Millwall: "Confident" Alex Neil claim made amid Middlesbrough & West Brom interest - but Rob Edwards concern issued | OneFootball

Alex Neil has been the subject of a potential move away from the Lions

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Millwall are currently one of the most in-form sides in the Championship, with a recent string of largely positive results propelling Alex Neil's side into play-off contention once again.

The Lions came so close to earning a first top-six berth in the second-tier since 2001/02 last season, before falling short by two points due to a final-day defeat at Burnley.

However, their chances of finally breaking a recent curse are stronger than ever under the management of the experienced Scot, who is also able to call upon his knowhow from over a decade ago, when he achieved an immediate promotion to the Premier League with Norwich City in 2014/15, defeating Middlesbrough at Wembley Stadium.

A recent run of just two league defeats since August 30th has seen the South London side head into the current international break in sixth, having taken 25 points from the first 45 available.

Unsurprisingly, there is an ever-growing sense of belief that Millwall can end their exile from the top-flight, which has lasted since 1990, could soon come to an end, with Neil continuing to showcase his nous on the managerial side of things, whilst the club have found a successful 'moneyball' model in order to progress forward, as they have shown no ill-effects from the high-profile sales of Romain Esse and Japhet Tanganga.

However, it's also no surprise that such developments have caught the eye of divisional rivals, most notably Middlesbrough and West Bromwich Albion.

Regardless of such claims, Football League World's Millwall fan pundit, Lucas Ball, has no concerns regarding the 44-year-old's long-term future.

As previously mentioned, Neil emerged as one of the initial candidates to take over at the Riverside Stadium following Steve Gibson's decision to stand Rob Edwards down from his position as initial talks over a move to Wolves began prior to confirmation of his appointment.

Such links came shortly after Millwall entered the international break following a 1-1 draw with Neil's former side, Preston North End at the Den, whilst Boro defeated Birmingham City 2-1 under Adi Viveash.

Speaking post-match, the Bellshill-born man rebuffed links to both the North East side and West Bromwich Albion, who are reportedly monitoring Neil's situation amid uncertainty which surrounds Ryan Mason's immediate future at The Hawthorns.

However, Ball backs his side to retain the Scot's services ahead of a crucial period in the season - although there is a slight worry having seen how Rob Edwards was talking at Middlesbrough just weeks before he's jumped ship for Wolves that Neil could theoretically do the same.

"There's been some vague interest from Middlesbrough and West Brom, apparently, looking at Alex Neil," Lucas told FLW.

"Obviously, he's got a really good record since he took over last December.

"He obviously moved from Sunderland to Stoke before, but Sunderland had just been promoted from League One then. I'd be fairly confident that he wants to stay.

"He seems to be enjoying his time at the club and seems to have an understanding of the fanbase, the club's roots and everything that comes with that," Ball claimed.

"We obviously saw Rob Edwards talking about being a 'family' at Middlesbrough, and he's looking likely to be on the move.

"I like Alex Neil. He obviously signed a new deal in the summer, so I'd like to feel relatively confident. Obviously, you should take things in football with a pinch of salt, things can move very quickly.

"But, the positive, for me, was on Saturday afternoon. Someone asked him about it in his press conference, and he said there was no interest that he'd been made aware of.

"I understand that he's not going to come out and say 'yes, there's been talks'. It's just nice to hear some reassurance that he wants to get us into the top six and finally be the manager to guide Millwall to the Premier League," Ball stated.

Throughout his managerial career thus far, Neil has been the subject of departure links but has, more often than not, stayed loyal to his current employers.

Of course, he isn't the only manager linked with the Middlesbrough job, although Steve Gibson's prior track record of appointing someone out of work will certainly ease any minor concerns from those at The Den.

Meanwhile, West Brom are currently eight places behind the Lions, which would beg the question as to why Neil would be attracted to The Hawthorns at this moment in time, particularly after signing a new contract.

At present, several forward and defensive players are bang in-form for Millwall, with Mihailo Ivanovic also returning to the goals of late alongside Femi Azeez and Thierno Ballo, which is a mouth-watering prospect for supporters who are hoping it will finally be their year in terms of promotion.