ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Thursday, the Tampa Bay Rowdies announced that Robbie Neilson has signed a multi-year contract to take the helm as head coach of the USL Championship club.
“We are proud to bring a coach of Robbie’s caliber here to Tampa Bay to lead the Rowdies,” said Rowdies Vice Chairman Brian Auld. “Throughout his career, Robbie has shown the ability to get results at a high level and take teams under his leadership to new heights. We believe Robbie’s passion and drive match our ambitions to continually improve on and off the field, which makes him a perfect fit for the Rowdies.”
At just 43 years old, Neilson comes to Tampa Bay with an already impressive resume and over 350 matches coached during his time at Heart of Midlothian and Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership and MK Dons FC of the English Football Pyramid.
While with Hearts and Dundee United, Neilson was able to achieve the highest winning percentage of any head coach in either club’s history, winning 58.8% of his matches at Hearts and 57.1% of his matches for Dundee United.
“I’m so grateful for the fantastic opportunity the ownership of the Rowdies has given me to help this club continue its development,” said Neilson. “It’s truly a great setup for soccer here in Tampa Bay. There is a great training ground and all the facilities you need for the team to continue to progress and be successful."
Neilson said he's excited to join a club that expects to compete for championships.
"The Rowdies have been successful. We’ve won at least a division championship. We’d like to try and do that again, several times, and then try and win the full thing. Also, having the Rays and [Rays owner Stuart Sternberg] involved in it, as well," Neilson said after his introductory press conference. "You’re part of a big organization with fantastic support, and they’ve got that winning mentality. And we want to continue that and develop it."
Neilson began his head coaching career in 2014 at Heart of Midlothian, a club where he appeared in over 200 matches during a 10-year tenure as a player.
In his first season, Neilson led Hearts to a Scottish Championship title, earning the club promotion to the Scottish Premiership and Neilson his first of three Scottish Manager of the Year nominations. The following year, Neilson guided Hearts to third place in the league to qualify for the UEFA Europa League.
Following a two-year stint at English side MK Dons FC in EFL League One, Neilson returned to Scotland to take over at Dundee United for the 2018-2019 season. Dundee finished second in the league during Neilson’s first season in charge before capturing the Scottish Championship title the following season.
Neilson was recruited for a return to Hearts the following year and led his former club to greatness again with another Scottish Championship title and an appearance in the Scottish Cup final.
Former Rowdies coach Neill Collins left in the middle of the season to take the head coaching position at Barnsley FC in England. Stuart Dobson and Nicky Law both coached the team on an interim basis.
The players said the hiring of Neilson brings some much-needed stability and optimism moving forward.
"From everything we’ve heard, everything he’s done in the past, you can tell he’s an intense guy. He’s going to bring the excitement back," said Rowdies midfielder Leo Fernandes. "It’s something that we needed. It was a tough, turbulent year, but with him under control, I think we’ll be back where we’re supposed to be."
Unlike Europe, there isn't any promotion or relegation between American soccer leagues. But Neilson said his only concern is adding more trophies to the team's collection.
"For us, we want to be winning titles. Same as the club I was at previously. It’s about winning titles," Neilson added. "Relegation, promotion, it doesn’t really bother me. It’s about winning weekly and trying to get the team at the top of the league and sustain that."
