Neil took charge of Sunderland in February last season and guided the Black Cats back to the Championship with their 2-0 win in the playoff final against Wycombe Wanderers.
Despite a bright start to the ongoing campaign with the Black Cats, the Scottish tactician left Sunderland to take the managerial role at their Championship rivals, Stoke City.
Mowbray, who succeeded Neil at the Stadium of Light, praised the former Black Cats boss for last season’s achievement with Sunderland and stated that the Scottish manager will go down in history books for pushing the Wearside club on an upward trajectory.
The Sunderland boss also pointed out that the job Neil did last season was no small feat, as League One is a very competitive division with some of the biggest clubs in English football competing in it.
“For whatever reason, he made a decision and moved on”, Mowbray said at a press conference.
“But it will go in the history books of the football club that he was the manager that got this club out of League One and back into the Championship, and hopefully back on an upward journey towards the Premier League at some stage in the future.
“That is not an easy job to get out of that league, when you look at how tough it is this year and I am sure it was just as tough last year with some really big clubs in the division, all sort of scrapping and fighting with huge expectations.
“Sometimes the expectation can weigh you down, and they manage to overcome that and get the job done.”
Next Saturday, Neil will return to the Stadium of Light with his Stoke City team to lock horns with his former side Sunderland.
