DAN Neil had a message for his neighbour after Sunderland's win over Oxford United last week - that neighbour being his midfield partner Chris Rigg!

The pair live just a couple of minutes apart and are close on and off the pitch.

And Neil has been blown away by the brilliance of Rigg so far this season.

So much so, after the teenager again starred in last Saturday's victory, Neil made a beeline for his fellow midfielder and said: 'You were brilliant today, man, well done!'

RECOMMENDED READING:

Neil doesn't turn 23 until December but is the elder statesman in the Sunderland midfield alongside 19-year-old Jobe Bellingham and Rigg, who doesn't turn 18 until next June.

Neil said: "Jobe and Riggy are still pretty new on the scene, and they've been absolutely brilliant. They've played so many minutes already this year and it's nice to have them in front of me.

"I'm getting old now. I need the legs in front of me," Neil joked.

"No, they've both been absolutely excellent but I think they've got really mature heads on their shoulders and they know that there's only 11, 12 games, whatever it is, and they want to do it for a full season and we want to be up there by the end of the season and that takes everybody. They've got really mature heads on their shoulders and they're not going to stop."

Neil added: "Riggy lives two minutes from us. He lives around the corner from us, so it's always nice to play in midfield with somebody who's so local to you. And it's nice to play in midfield with such a developing talent, and just see him each week getting better and better and better.

"He gets frustrated when he gets taken off sometimes because you always have to remind him you're 17 and you need to rest your legs."