Neil Warnock (born 1 December 1948) is an English football manager and former player. He is currently football advisor of National League South club Torquay United. In a managerial career spanning five decades, Warnock has managed sixteen different clubs from the Premier League to non-league. Within English football, he holds the record for the most promotions, with eight, and the most games as a professional manager, with 1,626, beating the previous record of 1,601 set by Dario Gradi.
Warnock played as a winger for Chesterfield, Rotherham United, Hartlepool, Scunthorpe United, Aldershot, Barnsley, York City and Crewe Alexandra, scoring 36 goals in 327 career league appearances. He retired from league football in 1979, aged 30. His playing career continued in the 1979–80 season with non-league Burton Albion making nine appearances and scoring six goals until an injury cut his season short. He finished his playing career when returning to Burton Albion as player manager in the 1981–82 season, playing in 29 games and scoring three goals, before concentrating on management for the rest of his time at Burton.
Warnock's first managerial job was with non-League Gainsborough Trinity, he would subsequently manage Burton Albion and Scarborough, winning promotion to the Football League with the latter in 1987. He then managed Notts County, leading them from the Third Division to the First Division in successive seasons, though he was dismissed after the club were relegated in 1992. After a brief spell at Torquay United, he moved to Huddersfield Town, with whom he won promotion to the new First Division. He then resigned and joined Plymouth Argyle, leading them to the Second Division. After being dismissed, he spent spells with Oldham Athletic and Bury.
In 1999, Warnock joined boyhood club Sheffield United, leading them to the semi-finals of the League Cup and FA Cup in 2003 and promotion to the Premier League in 2006. However, he resigned in 2007 after the club were relegated. He then took over at Crystal Palace, saving the club from relegation to League One. When the club went into administration, he left to join Queens Park Rangers, winning promotion to the Premier League with the club in 2011. He was dismissed with the club in a precarious position and having spent short spells at Leeds United, Crystal Palace, Queens Park Rangers, and Rotherham United, he led Cardiff City to the Premier League in 2018. After a short spell with Middlesbrough, Warnock announced his retirement from management in April 2022. He returned to guide Huddersfield Town to Championship safety in February 2023, was interim manager of Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership in 2024, and was caretaker manager of Torquay United in March 2026.
Warnock started his professional playing career with Chesterfield in 1967, before moving on to Rotherham United, Hartlepool, Scunthorpe United, Aldershot, Barnsley, York City and Crewe Alexandra, making a total of 327 league appearances in an 11-year playing career. At Hartlepool, he won the club's Player of the Season award in 1972. Whilst at Hartlepool, at the age of 24, Warnock was inspired to enter football management following his playing days, after a dressing down from manager Len Ashurst after an FA Cup defeat to Boston United. He finished his Football League career at Crewe Alexandra in 1979, aged only 30. His playing career continued at Burton Albion in 1979 which was cut short with an injury and continued when he re-joined Burton as player-manager in 1981–1982, before concentrating on management for the rest of his time at Burton.
After being involved in Sunday League coaching, his first full managerial job was with Northern Premier League side Gainsborough Trinity in 1980. During his time at Gainsborough, Warnock also played for the club. Warnock's Gainsborough side went unbeaten for the first home 13 games of the 1980–81 Northern Premier League season, a streak that was not equalled by the club until 2022. Under Warnock's management, Gainsborough finished fifth in the Northern Premier League.
Following this he managed Burton Albion and Scarborough. At Scarborough he and Paul Evans, his assistant, won the Football Conference title in 1987, making them the first team to win automatic promotion to the Football League following the abolition of the re-election system.
Warnock had earlier spent time as a coach at Peterborough United, where he met Posh assistant boss Mick Jones. In late 1988, Warnock became manager of Notts County – then in the Third Division – with Jones as his assistant. Also joining the backroom staff were Warnock's assistant at Scarborough, Paul Evans, and ex-Scarborough physio Dave Wilson. The four helped County achieve successive promotions to reach the First Division for the 1991–92 season, with Warnock turning down lucrative offers to manage Chelsea and Sunderland during this time. Warnock, however, was dismissed in January 1993 after County's relegation had cost them a place in the new Premier League.
On 1 February 1993, Warnock arrived at Torquay United as "consultant", where he was brought in to assist the team manager, Paul Compton. On 24 March 1993, Warnock officially took over as manager following the resignation of Compton, who reverted to his previous role of youth coach.
After saving the club from relegation from the Football League, Warnock left the club in May 1993 and was replaced by Don O'Riordan. Soon afterwards Warnock turned down the job at Lincoln City.
Warnock resumed his partnership with Jones, Evans and Wilson at Huddersfield Town, his appointment coming in July 1993 where he replaced Ian Ross, who had departed Leeds Road one day previously. His arrival at the club coincided with Huddersfield's final season at Leeds Road, which had been their home since their formation in 1908.
Warnock quickly injected new blood into the side, signing goalkeeper Steve Francis, Darren Bullock, Ronnie Jepson, Tom Cowan and Pat Scully during his first season, all of whom would go on to become mainstays in the 1994–95 promotion season. He also showed faith in Centre of Excellence products such as Chris Billy, Simon Baldry and Andy Booth – a player then struggling to make the breakthrough who would go on to become a club legend in modern times.
Despite these acquisitions, Town struggled for most of the 1993–94 season and Warnock was quick to offload fan favourites Iwan Roberts, Iffy Onoura and Chris Marsden while introducing a more direct style of play. He was deeply unpopular during those early months of his reign and it wasn't until the run to the 1994 Football League Trophy Final (lost on penalties to Swansea City) that opinions began to change. This run coincided with an upturn in league form and a mass optimism further bolstered by the move to the new Alfred McAlpine Stadium for the 1994–95 season.
Warnock's side won the Yorkshire Electricity Cup in late 1994 and were genuine contenders for automatic promotion until falling away in the final few games to finish 5th (the final play-off spot that season owing to league re-structuring). They triumphed on penalties over second-placed Brentford after two thrilling ties and went on to beat Bristol Rovers at Wembley Stadium. He quit Huddersfield just days after their promotion, but made a swift and surprising return to management at Plymouth Argyle, who had just been relegated to Division Three.
In his first season as manager of Plymouth Argyle, Warnock took the club to Division Three play-off glory after finishing fourth in the league. The play-off semi-final was a memorable affair – Argyle played Colchester United and were 1–0 down from the first leg, but won 3–1 at Home Park in the second leg. During this game, Warnock was sent off from the dug-out. Warnock responded to this by jumping into the crowd to watch the remainder of the match with the Argyle supporters.
The final was the first match that the club had played at Wembley. A header from Ronnie Mauge on 65 minutes gave Argyle a 1–0 win over Darlington and promotion to Division Two. In February 1997, Warnock was surprisingly sacked as Argyle manager despite his popularity with the supporters.