McNeill appeared regularly in the Hibernian reserve team in five years at the club, but played in only one senior game, a 3–0 win against St Johnstone in December 1965.

In December 1968, McNeill was reading the Edinburgh Evening News when he noticed his name in the entries for the 1969 New Year Sprint.

Despite being run out in the cross tie, McNeill enjoyed this new found sport and soon retired from soccer to take up a sprinting career.

McNeill went into the gym, pounding the speedball and performing several body-weight exercises to transform his body to the condition required to improve substantially.

In August 1970, McNeill broke the world professional 120 yards record,[5] setting a fastest time of 11.14 seconds.

[6] In 1971 McNeill ran 2nd off scratch in the New Year Sprint at Meadowbank Stadium conceding 6 yards to stablemate Wilson Young who won the event.

McNeill took up coaching in the 1980s, training Willie Fraser to win the 1985 New Year Sprint and David Clarke to 2nd place in the 1985 Stawell Gift.