Alex Neil discusses his Sunderland departure and returning to the Stadium of Light after Stoke City win

Neil oversaw an emphatic 5-1 win for his side on his return to the Stadium of Light and admitted it was a satisfying afternoon after what he feels has been unfair criticism on Wearside.

Neil said: "I don't want to get into that [why I left] because as a manager, there are so many decisions you have to make and you have to protect the integrity of the club - and you have a duty to protect the club and not divulge certain things. What's done is done and I'm not going to get into he said, she said, all that.

"What's done is done and I don't think that's fair on anyone because when you work closely with people and you try to do your job properly, there's always different dynamics. People who know me here how much preparation and how much thought I put into things, I ain't leaving anywhere or making such a decision without a massive amount of thought.. it wasn't a whim.

"I loved it when I was here, we tried to move things forward and I felt that I was as good for Sunderland as they were for me.

"I was extremely grateful that I was given the opportunity to come here and manage this club because it's an unbelievable club. What happens is that it's going to go one of two ways, either they're going to get rid of me or I'm going to leave at some point.

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"I've got absolutely nothing but good things to say about Sunderland. What's been disappointing or frustrating for me is that I've probably been painted as a villain to some degree, a lot of negative things and untrue things said about me, which is disappointing but at the end of the day, I'm a big boy and I'm not going to sit here and cry about it.

"The only reason I enjoyed winning today is for the people who really don't understand all the dynamics of what happened and want to label me as the bad guy, because I don't think that's right."

The game was paused briefly after Stoke City's fourth goal, with objects thrown both at goalscorer Dwight Gayle and Neil near the away dugout as he celebrated.

Neil said he had no intention of riling the home crowd and his response was merely a reflection of his investment in the game, as was the case when he was in charge at the Stadium of Light.

After the incidents messages were displayed on the scoreboard urging fans to desist in the throwing of any missiles, as had also happened after Sunderland's goal.

"I'm certainly not here to agitate anyone and I didn't try to do that today, but as people here know when I'm at a club, I'm all in and I live and breathe it," he said.

"While I was here, I gave every single thing I had to the club to try and bring success. Now that I'm at Stoke, it's the exact same. I'm really passionate about my job and my team."