Neil Saunders, arriving from Team Bath, played intermittently during a three-year spell with Exeter City between 2007 and 2010 largely because of a serious injury he sustained upon joining the club. He later moved into football administration taking up a range of senior roles with the Premier League.    

Neil was on Watford’s books when at school and later signed professional terms with the Hornets but left the club in 2003 without making a first-team appearance. After a short stay at Barnet, he enrolled on a coach education and sports development degree at Bath University where he played for Team Bath and was coached by Paul Tisdale. Captaining the side for two seasons, Neil joined Exeter City - along with Matt Taylor - during the summer of 2007.    

Once at Exeter Neil suffered a serious knee injury and missed the entire 2007-08 campaign before finally making his Grecians’ debut against Lincoln City in December 2008. Neil then played regularly through to March 2009 when he signed a fresh contract taking him through to the end of 2009-10. But he only played a further seven times between August 2009 and March 2010 before being released in May 2010 when he announced his retirement from the game. 

After leaving Exeter City, Neil started working for the Premier League as an academy programmes manager moving on to youth planning and projects. By 2016 he was the organisation’s head of youth before being appointed director of football in 2021. He is also a non-executive director of the British Triathlon Federation.