Three years on from his departure at Sunderland, Lee Johnson is set to bag a new job, and he’s head to very different settings for this next role.
The former Sunderland manager has actually been out of work since December 2023, after a very brief spell with Fleetwood Town that lasted just 22 matches and less than four months.
Lee Johnson’s time at Sunderland has a negative tinge to it, but he didn’t actually do too bad with the Black Cats. He had some real success, in fact, not least of all in his transformation of Alex Pritchard into one of the best players in the league.
Now, he’s ready to take on a challenge after some time away from the game, and it sounds like a pretty good opportunity, too.
Lee Johnson set for role with Lommel SK
As per Ben Jacobs on Twitter/X, we should expect to see Johnson in the dugout for Belgian outfit Lommel SK for the rest of this season.
Jacobs wrote: “Understand Lee Johnson is close to joining Lommel SK as their new head coach. Announcement expected soon and Johnson will be in charge for the remainder of the season.
“He previously worked for City Football Group as a coach in the summer and is highly-rated by the group.”
Lommel are in the second tier of Belgian football, and currently sit in 13th place out of a 16-team league. They have eight games left this season.
The City Group also includes Yokohama, Girona, Montevideo, Shenzhen Peng, Mumbai City, Troyes, Bahia, and Club Bolivar, as well as Manchester City, of course.
Lee Johnson’s career has never quite recovered after Sunderland sacking
Johnson was in charge at Sunderland from December 2020 through to the end of January 2022, before being sacked in the wake of defeat to Bolton Wanderers.
Since then, he’s worked with Scottish outfit Hibernian for just over a year, then with Fleetwood, before some work behind the scenes with the City Group through the summer.
The truth is, he’s never quite got back on track since that dismissal at Sunderland, and it’s unlikely he will ever get another chance to manage at a top level in England.
| Manager | Games | Wins | Win % | PPG |
| Lee Johnson | 78 | 42 | 51 | 1.83 |
| Regis Le Bris | 35 | 71 | 49 | 1.77 |
| Michael Beale | 12 | 4 | 33 | 1.17 |
| Mike Dodds | 15 | 3 | 20 | 0.80 |
| Tony Mowbray | 65 | 26 | 40 | 1.46 |
But, in reality, Johnson actually had a decent win rate and points-per-game (PPG) ratio with the Black Cats. His 1.83 PPG average is actually better than any of Sunderland’s recent coaches, including Regis Le Bris and Tony Mowbray.
Of course, that comes with the caveat that he was working in League One at the time, and the fact Sunderland got promoted and have thrived since says a lot about Johnson’s tenure. Still, we wish him the best for this next role, and who knows, it could be the start of a comeback for the 43-year-old.