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Neill William Collins (born 2 September 1983) is a Scottish football manager and former player who is the head coach of USL Championship club Sacramento Republic.
Collins is a former Scotland U21 and Scotland B international who played as a centre-back. He started his playing career with Queen's Park before moving to Dumbarton. A transfer to English side Sunderland followed in 2004, but he failed to establish himself in the first team during his three-year spell on Wearside. After loan moves to Hartlepool United and Sheffield United, he was loaned to Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he became a first-team regular and signed a permanent deal in 2007. Following Wolves' promotion to the Premier League, he fell out of favour and moved on loan again, this time to Preston North End. Still, although they signed him permanently in 2010, he was never a regular. He quickly moved to Leeds United, with whom he won promotion to the EFL Championship in 2010. After losing his place the following season, Collins returned to Sheffield United, one of his former loan clubs, where he made over 100 appearances. He lost his first-team place in the 2014–15 season and joined Port Vale on loan in March 2015. He moved to America in March 2016 to play for the Tampa Bay Rowdies. By the end of his 18-year playing career, he had scored 35 goals in 583 league and cup appearances.
He took his first post in management in May 2018 when he transitioned from player to head coach at the Tampa Bay Rowdies. The 2021 season would prove highly successful as he won two USL Championship Coach of the Month awards, as well as the Coach of the Year award, as his side won the Eastern Conference and went on to finish as runners-up in the playoffs. He returned to England as the head coach of Barnsley in July 2023 and was sacked with one game left to play of the 2023–24 season with his team in the League One play-off places. He was appointed as the head coach of Raith Rovers in September 2024.
He never appeared in the top-flight for the Black Cats after Alan Stubbs was signed and was instead loaned out to League One side Hartlepool United in August 2005. He made 25 appearances for Martin Scott's Pools during his stay at Victoria Park. He was loaned out to Neil Warnock's Championship promotion hopefuls Sheffield United in February 2006. The Blades succeeded in winning promotion in 2005–06, though Collins featured in just two games at Bramall Lane.
With Sunderland back in the Championship in 2006–07, Collins was forced to play in the unfamiliar role of right-back after injuries to teammates Stephen Wright and Nyron Nosworthy. He was a regular under Mick McCarthy, but when McCarthy left the job, Collins was dropped by replacement manager Roy Keane despite Collins feeling he'd performed well.
The 2007–08 season saw Wolves miss out on the play-offs on goal difference with Collins making 42 appearances. Collins started 2008–09 strongly with Wolves but was left out of the first-team with the loan arrival of Michael Mancienne from Chelsea. When Mancienne returned to Chelsea in the New Year, Collins returned to the side, partnering Richard Stearman. He contributed several important goals during this period. Still, he was soon ousted from the side again after receiving a Penalty card for dissent at Reading and following the addition of Scottish international Christophe Berra. He remained out of the side for the remainder of the season as the club were promoted to the Premier League as champions and was transfer listed in July 2009.
He started the 2010–11 season as one of Leeds' first-choice defenders due to Patrick Kisnorbo still being out with a long-term injury. After some indifferent performances early on in the season, Collins scored an own goal in Leeds' 5–2 defeat by Barnsley and was dropped to the bench by manager Simon Grayson at the end of October.
Now in League One and under the stewardship of Danny Wilson, the 2011–12 campaign saw Collins establish an effective defensive partnership with fellow centre-back Harry Maguire, and he was awarded supporters Player of the Month for September 2011. He scored his first goal for the Blades in February 2012, in a 1–0 victory over Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town at the Kirklees Stadium. Collins remained a mainstay of the defence but United missed out on automatic promotion by three points to Sheffield derby Sheffield Wednesday, then lost to Huddersfield in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium; the match ended in a 0–0 draw, and though Collins converted his penalty his team lost the shoot-out 8–7.
With the club still in League One, Collins remained as first-choice in central defence alongside Maguire, captaining the side during Michael Doyle's absence. During the first half of the 2012–13 season, Collins began to score regularly, netting five times by the start of December as United challenged for automatic promotion. In November, he extended his current contract by two more years until 2015, with the option of another year. His good form was halted when he Bone fracture his cheekbone during a game against Scunthorpe United at the end of December, an injury that ruled him out of action for two months. He made 45 appearances across the campaign as United recorded a club record 21 clean sheets; however, they could only reach the play-off semi-finals. Only as good as your strikers neillcollins.com
He scored two goals in 55 appearances in the 2013–14 season and was named on the Football League Team of the Week after helping United to consecutive 1–0 victories away at Colchester United and Milton Keynes Dons as part of a total run of 450 minutes of League One football that the team went without conceding a goal.
He lost his place in the United first-team early in the 2014–15 season and dropped out of manager Nigel Clough's first-team plans, having failed to make an appearance past October. Despite this he vowed to remain at the club, saying he enjoyed a connection with the club. He joined League One rivals Port Vale on loan until the end of the season on 26 March 2015. Manager Rob Page signed him on transfer deadline day and Collins later said that "I had a difficult start... but I grew into the season, we stayed up and I really enjoyed it".
Following Nigel Clough's departure as manager, Collins was restored to the first-team under new boss Nigel Adkins for the 2015–16 season. He was named in the Football League Team of the Week after scoring a headed goal in a 2–0 victory at Swindon Town, winning praise for his centre-back partnership with David Edgar.
Collins was named USL Championship Coach of the Year after his team achieved 23 wins to top the Eastern Conference in the 2021 regular season. He was also named as Coach of the Month for April / May and September, having achieved 100% win records in both periods and setting a league record of 891 minutes without conceding a goal. In the playoffs, Tampa defeated FC Tulsa, Birmingham Legion FC and Louisville City FC, before falling to a 3–1 defeat to Orange County SC in the final.
He was named as Coach of the Month for July 2022 after overseeing five wins that extended the club's unbeaten run to 13 games; he credited the run to his players, name-checking new signing Jake LaCava. The Rowdies qualified for the play-offs with a third-place finish in the 2022 Eastern Conference standings; they went on to lose the Conference final game with a 1–0 loss to Louisville City FC.
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| + Managerial record by team and tenure | ||
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 18 May 2018 | 8 July 2023 |
| Barnsley | 9 July 2023 | 22 April 2024 |
| Raith Rovers | 3 September 2024 | 21 December 2024 |
| Sacramento Republic | 21 December 2024 | present |
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Leeds United
Tampa Bay Rowdies
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