A former Sunderland boss is apparently keen on a return, but the club are unlikely to appoint him as Tony Mowbray’s replacement.
Sunderland are without a manager after sacking Mowbray last night.
The 60-year-old oversaw 65 games as Sunderland manager after replacing Alex Neil last season, winning 26 of them and guiding the Black Cats to a play-off finish last season.
He’ll be remembered fondly by Sunderland fans, but it seems like the club are now keen to appoint a more long-term manager.
Already, several names have been mentioned in bookies’ lists and whatnot, but a recent report from iNews has suggested that a couple of veteran managers are keen on the job at the Stadium of Light.
Neil Warnock and Mick McCarthy keen on Sunderland job
And two names that iNews say are interested are veteran duo Neil Warnock and Mick McCarthy.
Warnock, 75, is available after leaving Huddersfield Town earlier in the campaign whilst former Sunderland boss McCarthy was last with Blackpool earlier this year, where he won two of his 14 games in charge.
iNews say that, whilst both ‘would be interested’ in the Black Cats vacancy, neither are likely to get a look-in.
McCarthy was in charge of Sunderland between March 2003 and March 2006, winning 63 of his 147 games in charge and winning the Championship title in 2005.
What kind of manager will the Black Cats appoint?
It’s been widely reported that Sunderland will look to hire a younger, contemporary manager next.
And that all but rules the likes of Warnock and McCarthy out of the running; whilst both are experienced and could do a job elsewhere, neither really come close to fitting the bill at Sunderland.
There’ll be no shortage of interest out there and the Sunderland hierarchy will surely have a few key names in mind early on, with a foreign appointment appearing to be likelier at this stage, as per iNews.
Journalist Michael Graham has suggested that English coaches aren’t totally ready to work at clubs where transfers are wholly overseen by the officials.
So that’s something that the next Sunderland boss needs to consider and something that the applicants need to remember too.
It’s not an easy job and it’s one with lofty expectations. But should the next boss succeed then they’ll become an immediate legend at the club, with Sunderland looking to return to the Premier League after a seven-season hiatus.
Sunderland return to Championship action at home vs West Brom next weekend, though whether the Black Cats have a new boss in place before then remains to be seen.