Marco Gabbiadini has criticised Sunderland’s decision to sack Tony Mowbray.
Speaking on BBC Total Sport North East, the former striker has admitted he is ‘shocked’ that the club parted ways with the coach so soon.
Tony Mowbray was sacked late on Tuesday night, days after Sunderland’s draw with Millwall and just months after the club had extended his contract.
The 60-year-old led the Black Cats to the Championship play-offs last season and were hopeful of going one step further this time round, however poor form and a lack of goals has left Sunderland ninth in the table.
The Wearside outfit are still only three points from the top six ahead of this weekend’s clash with West Brom, however Sunderland clearly weren’t prepared to trust in Mowbray and instead sent him packing.
While there were many calling for Mowbray’s sacking after recent results, it also came as a surprise to many – including Marco Gabbiadini.
“I am sort of shocked because everybody liked Tony Mowbray and liked the football he was delivering,” he said.
“Now we have had some issues recently; results have not been great in the last few weeks, but I think the reason for that was not to do with Tony Mowbray. So that is the bit I find difficult.
“Whoever comes in is going to have the same problems and are they going to have the same skillset to get through it and keep the team moving forward, or better than they are doing?”
Has Sunderland given us a reason not to trust them?
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman have certainly put a lot of pressure on themselves and should have very high standards if they are to go one better than Tony Mowbray.
The former Middlesbrough man was exceptional at times and it will be very difficult to find someone who was as good with the young players as he was.
But the club haven’t really let us down in the managerial department since Louis-Dreyfus arrived in 2021, despite our doubts.
Fans were left frustrated when we missed out on Roy Keane as Lee Johnson’s replacement, only for Alex Neil to get us promoted to the Championship.
There was even more disappointment when it was Tony Mowbray that was chosen to replace him, but he did better than anyone could have expected.
So we should definitely have faith in the club to get it right, and there’s no point complaining about Mowbray’s exit when we can’t do anything about it.