IT is unknown what the midwife said when Alexander Francis Neil first entered the world but she probably commented on the fact that one day this baby would definitely go on to become a football manager of some renown.

After all, everyone else saw such raw potential in his formative years so why not the women who delivered him?

Martin Canning, his successor as manager of Hamilton Academical, just knew the lad he sat beside at primary school was going to make it. So, too, seemingly did every single person when they first met a man who next season, as we stand, will be the English Premier League's lone Scottish manager with Norwich City.

If those close to Neil quickly came to the conclusion he was on the road the stardom, it took the rest of the world, and by world I mean British football, some time before they got what this guy was all about.

They used to joke at New Douglas Park that the number of scouts doubled the crowd at home games. This was back in the 2008/09 season when James McCarthy was watched by every club in the Premiership, while James McArthur, Brian Easton plus one or two others were also on the radar.

Nobody ever came to see the team captain who at the time was only 27, despite the fact he was one of the top three players for his team in every single game.

"I could never understand why nobody ever asked me about Alex," former Hamilton manager Billy Reid once told me. "We got enquires about so many of the lads and yet the captain and our most consistent player was ignored. He could have played in any Premier League team.

"I actually began to hope someone would recognise how good he was. In saying that, I was delighted he stayed so long at the club."

Reid was always happy to admit how much he relied on Neil, his on and off field leader, who joined Hamilton in 2005 from Mansfield Town. It was then Neil first met Frank McAvoy, who was standing beside him when the final whistle blew last Monday and the 2-0 win over play-off final win over Middlesbrough was secured.

At the time, McAvoy worked with the Hamilton youth set-up, later becoming academy director, and he was another one early to spot the coaching potential in a talented player.

When Neil got the call from Norwich, his first act was to ask McAvoy, a highly rated coach in his own right, if he fancied moving south to be his assistant. It was one of the easiest decisions he's ever had to make; not only because clubs in the English Championship tend to pay their staff more than Hamilton, but he was utterly convinced his old friend would make it with or without his help.

"It was just too good an opportunity to turn down," said McAvoy and with no great surprise added: "I was delighted because I have known for a long time that Alex was going to be a top manager.

"His football knowledge is exceptional. He has passion and intelligence. He was also a top player and that is something which has been overlooked. He knew exactly what to do in possession and where to be without the ball. He always knew what position to be on the park. He's always been a deep thinker about the game.

"I'll bet you that any footballer finds him a dream to work for. They know exactly what he wants from them. There are in no doubt what their job is on the pitch. He tells them what he wants to see. Nothing is hidden.

"I've worked with him for ten years now. The guy is a winner. He is so focussed and incredibly driven. He has this fear of letting people down. It's that fear of failure which carries him through."

Neil was never going to turn down one of the Championship's biggest clubs who at the time were hardly struggling but a play-off place was far from certain. He also walked into a dressing room and and a less than convinced group with no clue who the new manager was.

It says much for Neil that from day one he had this collection of well paid and egotistic footballers, who probably had to Google what on earth a 'Hamilton Academical' was, were reading from the same script. His script.

"The moment we beat Ipswich in the semi-final, Alex began planning for the final with Middlesbrough," McAvoy revealed. "The work he put in, the analysis in a relatively short pace of time was unbelievable. The guy is meticulous in everything he does. He put in so many hours on how we were going to play at Wembley. The players then perfectly executed the game-plan. They have brought into it totally."

I have been told that while the Norwich players were unsure of the new gaffer, his 'my way or the highway' style was something they themselves felt they needed. In other words, a good kick up the a***. It was clear right away who was boss and what he wanted.

Scott Struthers, Hamilton's former secretary, and someone who has been involved with that club for what seems the best part of a millennia. He was another only too delighted to talk of Neil's qualities.

"When I decided to leave the club last year, Alex told me to stay and I said to him; 'you won't be here by the end of the season either.' He looked at me as if I was mad, but I knew how good he was and that he would get an offer soon enough that was too good to turn down," said Struthers.

"When Alex first came to club he would have been 23 and even then I had identified him as someone with something special about him. For all that he's a nice guy, Alex can be a ruthless bastard. Not in a nasty way, but he knows what he wants, let's put it like that.

"This determination can upset people at times. I remember we played Dundee United early last season and Alex questioned Jackie McNamara about which team had been the best he had seen this season, knowing full well he was going to say 'you guys'. Alex just wanted to hear him say it."

Last word to McAvoy who is already counting the days until the two men are standing on the touchline of a Premier League ground.

"Let me tell you something. Alex Neil will be a success in the Premier League. There is not a shadow of doubt about that. We will grace the Premier League next season."

He may well be right and here is something not up for debate. Everyone knows who Alex Neil is now.