Where are they now? Former Spurs and Chelsea keeper Neil Sullivan

Our man between the sticks at the turn of the millennium, goalkeeper Neil Sullivan was a great servant to the Club, making 75 appearances before joining Chelsea in 2003. We recently caught up with the former Scotland international to discuss his time at the Club, his journey since and find out what he’s up to now...

'Sully' enjoyed quite the playing career in football. It was lengthy, filled with all the highs and lows that come with the beautiful game, plus he left the kind of impact on supporters that he could have only dreamt about when his journey as a footballer began in 1986. And the goalkeeper is still leaving his mark on the sport to this day as he is helping to bring through the next generation of shot-stoppers at Hull City.

Beginning his career with his local side Wimbledon FC as a 16-year-old in the mid-1980s, Neil went on to spend the next 14 years with the Dons as they established themselves in the Premier League before they ultimately suffered relegation in 2000. That summer the Sutton-born keeper made the move across London to N17 and he went on to make 75 appearances for us during a period of change at the Club.

Three years later, another capital switch came for the former Scotland international as he joined Chelsea but, within 12 months, having made just eight appearances for the Blues, he was on the move again as he signed for Leeds United - a side also going through a moment of adjustment following their relegation from the Premier League. Two impressive campaigns followed at Elland Road before he joined Doncaster Rovers, where he enjoyed six more drama-filled seasons before making the decision to hang up his gloves in 2013 at the age of 43. But he would go out in style as Rovers were promoted as League One champions in his last ever game thanks to an iconic 96^th-minute winner on the final day of the 2012/13 season against promotion-rivals Brentford.

Neil could have kept his playing career going with Donny after the South Yorkshire outfit offered him another year at the Keepmoat Stadium, but he felt it was the right time to move on, especially as he had just been offered an opportunity to return to Leeds United and join their academy set-up as a coach. He spent seven seasons with United, involved with both the youth team and the first team, before departing Elland Road last summer to take up a similar role in the East Riding of Yorkshire with Hull.

Reliving that crazy final game of his career from his Doncaster days, Neil explained: “I had played part of the season on loan at Wimbledon but went back to Donny for the end of the campaign and my last ever game was at Brentford.

“They got a late, late penalty but hit the bar with it. We then broke and went down the other end and scored in the final few minutes to go up as champions. I didn’t know it at the time but that was my last ever game.

“And then I couldn’t even be involved in the celebrations because I had to do a doping test! So, I was up in the room trying to provide the sample and I could hear them downstairs in the dressing room, singing and opening up the bottles of champagne.

“I was then offered another year at Donny, I was 43-years-old - still enjoying playing and having a great time - but I realised I wouldn’t have played that much the next season and then a job at Leeds United came up to work with the Under-18s.

“Football is kind of all I knew, I lived in the area still and I had done my coaching badges so I thought, ‘you know what? If I am to give up my playing days, this would be the absolutely perfect job’. It was close to home, a bit more time off with the family with not travelling all the time, as well as having a bit of input developing young goalkeepers. For me, it was the perfect fit at that time. I was there for seven years working with the Under-18s, the Under-23s and I had a year with the first team. I then left last summer, and I am now at Hull City performing the same kind of role with the academy.

“It’s a great job and it’s nice when you see some of your players come through. Bailey Peacock-Farrell was one of the first players I worked with. I think Middlesbrough let him go and he’s gone all the way through. He played in the first team at Leeds, now he is at Burnley in the Premier League and he is playing international football for Northern Ireland. It’s nice to see them do well and there have been a few others that have progressed into the professional side of the game and are having a career. I enjoy coaching and who knows what will happen in the future?"

While the move into coaching for Neil was a huge adjustment for him, our former goalkeeper also admits that his decision to join us after having spent 14 years with Wimbledon was also a ‘big change’ for him personally.

Yet, the straight-talking Sully quickly slotted into life in north London, especially with many of his former Dons team-mates having already made the switch in previous seasons. And over the next few campaigns, as well as winning our Player of the Year award in his debut season, Neil also helped us to the FA Cup semi-finals in 2001 and the 2002 League Cup Final during his three-year stint.

“I left Wimbledon unfortunately in the year that the club got relegated and then I came over to Spurs,” he explained. “It was a big change for me. Obviously, I had been used to being at Wimbledon for a lot of years and everything that entailed like training on the Common but then coming up to Spurs, White Hart Lane was always a fantastic ground.

“When I walked into the training ground, even that was an eye-opener for me. The first time you pulled up at the Lane, someone took your car for you and went and parked it – I thought someone was nicking it! It was completely different to how it was at Wimbledon.

“The club was going through a bit of change. George Graham took me in, the club was being sold, there were a lot of things going on, but I loved it. I was player of the year in my first season and to be at a club like Spurs and be voted the player of the year was probably one of my proudest moments.

“It was a fantastic club and obviously you had Ben Thatcher there from Wimbledon, Chris Perry as well, and my goalkeeping coach was Hans Segers who had also been at Wimbledon, which made the move even easier. And when you go to a club like Spurs - with those players – and the fans give you that award, it’s such a great honour. It’s hard to explain when you look at Spurs and the tradition of the place – it’s very humbling.

“The club had an aura about it. When you walked into White Hart Lane or drove up to the gates… there was just something about the place. It’s hard to put your finger on it. It’s just one of those clubs that’s just got something about it.”

After three years with us, Sully then swapped north for west London as he joined Claudio Ranieri’s Chelsea in July, 2003. It was to be a short and frustrating spell at Stamford Bridge for the goalkeeper though, as he was limited to just a handful of opportunities before he left for Leeds United the following summer.

“I went to Chelsea for a year after Spurs and I didn’t have my best year to be honest,” he explained. “I had the opportunity to play, I think I played about eight games and the opportunity to play in a Champions League semi-final but the week before, I didn’t have the best game, so I was left out, which was disappointing.

“But as I say, at a club like that, whether it is Spurs or Chelsea, you have to be performing week in, week out or you’ll lose your chance. And, for me, I didn’t have the greatest time at Chelsea. I was only there for a year and then Petr Cech came in. There was a lot of change going on at that club at the time as well with Roman Abramovich buying the club. I loved the club, there were great people there and again, I was very fortunate to play with some very good players but for me personally, it didn’t work out how I would have liked, which was disappointing.”