Preston boss Alex Neil has another Scot for company at last as Paul Lambert lands at Ipswich

PNE boss Alex Neil had been flying a lone Saltire as the only Scotland-born boss in the Championship for the last couple of seasons.

That changed this week when Paul Lambert got the Ipswich job, the Glaswegian handed the task of guiding the Tractor Boys off the foot of the table.

So is Neil happy to have a fellow Scot stood on the other side of the technical area?

“We have been gradually dying out for some reason,” said Neil as he reflected on the fact he and Lambert are the only Scottish bosses in the top two English divisions.

“Fergie (Sir Alex Ferguson) was the old dominator wasn’t he?

“These things tend to come in cycles, that is something I have spoken about before.

“There are a lot of very good Scottish managers and English managers about.

“I think the issue we have got is a lot of jobs are going abroad now.

“Ownership of a lot of clubs is going abroad too and they tend to try and highlight the best of who they are aware of, rather than focus on domestic people.”

Neil and Lambert have something in common in that both have managed Norwich City –Ipswich’s big rivals.

Both were successful there too, Lambert guided them to back-to-back promotions from League One through to the Premier League.

Neil was later to take the Canaries up to the top flight but was unable to keep them there.

Lambert’s promotions at Norwich came in 2010 and 2011 – he has since managed at Aston Villa, Blackburn, Wolves and Stoke.

The 49-year-old left Stoke in May after failing to keep them in the Premier League.

His task now is to try and preserve Ipswich’s status in the Championship, one put in peril after a single victory in the first 15 league games.

Lambert succeeds Paul Hurst, whose reign lasted five months.

Hurst had overseen a change of approach at Town, with them doing the bulk of their summer shopping in Leagues One and Two – in some ways similar to North End’s approach.

Gwion Edwards came from Peterborough for £750,000 and will be up against his old Posh team-mate Andrew Hughes.

Accrington Stanley were raided twice for striker Kayden Jackson and Janoi Donacien, a defender.

Jon Nolan and Aristote Nsiala followed Hurst from Shrewsbury.

Winger Edwards is Town’s top scorer with three goals, Chelsea loanee Trevoh Chalobah netting twice.

Ipswich have lost their last three games – to QPR, Leeds and Millwall – those coming on the back of their only league win against Swansea.

The 2-0 defeat to Leeds was the end for Hurst, Bryan Klug overseeing last week’s 3-0 loss to Millwall as Lambert watched from the stand.