Neil James Cox is an English former professional footballer and manager who is currently the assistant manager of National League side York City. A defender capable of playing at centre or right-back, he made over 500 appearances in the Football League during his career and was capped at Under-21 level by England. He began his career at Scunthorpe United as a youth player and was eventually offered a professional contract by the club, breaking into the first-team soon after. In 1991, Cox joined First Division side Aston Villa for a fee of £400,000, going on to make over 50 appearances for the side in all competitions, including playing in the club's victory over Manchester United in the 1994 Football League Cup Final, but struggled to establish himself in the first-team.

The 1994 Football League Cup Final took place on 27 March 1994 at the old Wembley Stadium. It was contested between Manchester United and Aston Villa. Aston Villa won 3–1, with one goal from Dalian Atkinson and two from Dean Saunders, to claim their fourth League Cup final victory; Manchester United's goal was scored by Mark Hughes, before Andrei Kanchelskis was sent off for handball. Manchester United won both the Premier League and FA Cup that season, the result denying United a domestic treble, while Villa finished 10th in the Premier League.