ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Saturday night at Al Lang Stadium was a bittersweet feeling for Tampa Bay Rowdies fans.
Days after the soccer club announced head coach Neill Collins will be departing them to join English League One side Barnsley FC, the 39-year-old led out his team onto the pitch for the last time as the Rowdies took on Oakland Roots SC.
It was a classic Rowdies performance that Collins organized within the five years he spent with the team: Solid defending and fast, attractive attacking play.
Striker Cal Jennings bagged a hat trick to earn Tampa Bay a 3-0 victory in Collins' farewell match.
For Collins, he could not have imagined his last day in charge of the Rowdies any better.
"This is quite overwhelming, to be honest," Collins said emotionally during his final postgame conference. "I feel like it's me that should be thanking the owners, players, staff, fans. Not so much the other way around. It's been a pleasure to be here... for everything that we've done together."
Before and during the game, fans brought out plenty of signs and shirts honoring Collins for everything he has done for Tampa Bay. And then after the win, the former Sunderland and Leeds United defender was treated with a tribute video on the scoreboard while he was with his family on the field as he, players and fans witnessed all his best moments with the Rowdies and everything they accomplished.
"However anyone who's been part of [this journey] feels [about my legacy], that's good enough for me," Collins said. "If they feel amazing and they thought it was a great time while we achieved things that's brilliant. If people feel I impacted them away from the field, that's fantastic.
"I think that's ultimately what you try to do [when building a legacy], how did you make people feel?"
Collins' status as an icon and legend for the Rowdies can not be understated.
He became the head coach of the team in 2018, two years after he signed on as a defender.
The first two years of his tenure were underwhelming, but it was the next three years after that in which Collins finally installed a winning culture in Tampa Bay.
The team would go on to make two appearances in the USL Champions Final -- losing one and another being canceled due to COVID-19 issues -- and reached the Eastern Conference Finals in three consecutive years.
"Our aim is to put this club at the top," Collins said. "Of course, you can't be at the top every week, but then again you look at the standings tonight, you look over the past four years, I think we've done that. [For teams who] finish ahead of the Rowdies, you're in a good spot."
After a bumpy start this season, the Rowdies began playing like their usual selves under Collins, consistently climbing up the Eastern Conference table and now sit in first place. The team has also not lost a game since April.
Moving forward, Collins believes the Rowdies have all the tools and personnel to continue leading the standings in their conference and make a deep run in the playoffs.
"Everything is in place for this organization to grow," he said. "If you look at the training facility, if you look at the ownership, the great people behind the scene, the squad is in contract and you got guys that are going to come back and make this team better. Someone will come in and things will carry on as normal."
Now, Collins is ready for his next challenge: Replicating his Rowdies greatness over in Europe.
"It's a challenge for me and one that I want to go in and just give everything I got," he said.
Barnsley FC competes in the Football League One, the third tier of professional soccer in England. The team finished in fourth place last year and narrowly missed out on promotion to the second division EFL Championship after falling 1-0 to Sheffield Wednesday in the promotion playoffs final.
Collins can also look forward to leading his new team in historic English league cup competitions, such as the FA Cup and Carabao Cup. Depending on how far he advances with Barnsley in each of those tournaments, Collins may face an English Premier League team.