Sunderland players’ reaction to the Michael Beale sacking on Monday has now been revealed.
Sunderland announced on Monday that the club and Beale had parted ways after just two months, with Beale overseeing only 12 games in charge of the club.
He replaced the well-liked Tony Mowbray, then after a turbulent spell in charge, it was Mowbray’s Birmingham City who put the final nail in the coffin for Beale at the Stadium of Light.
Since, several reports have emerged claiming a rift between Beale and the Sunderland players, which Beale himself has denied, and now the players’ immediate reaction to Beale’s exit has been claimed.
Sunderland players ‘disappointed at Michael Beale exit
In a perhaps surprising turn of events, The Athletic say that Sunderland players found out about Beale’s exit on Monday at the Academy of Light, and that straight after ‘there was little disappointment in the room’.
But the same report adds that ‘nobody at the Stadium of Light was convinced Beale had the skill set to turn the tide or win public approval’.
In 12 games, Beale earned four wins. But back-to-back defeats against Huddersfield Town and then Birmingham City sealed his fate, with performances in those games and particularly in the 1-0 home defeat vs Hull City last month showed that Sunderland had actually moved backwards under Beale’s watch.
Time for everyone to move on
What’s true and what’s untrue about the whole Beale saga at Sunderland remains to be seen.
The public may never know the full of extent of what went on behind the scenes and how well-liked Beale was among the players and staff.
If the players really were slightly disappointed at Beale’s exit though, it may suggest that he was a good coach and that he would’ve eventually got the best out of them, albeit despite being a widely disliked figure among fans.
But with Mike Dodds now in place, the club has a familiar and well-liked name to see out the 13 games that’s left of the season.
And they’re 13 huge games for the Black Cats who remain well in position to challenge for a spot in the top six.
Sunderland sit in 10th and now seven points outside the top six. But anything can change in the final weeks of the season, and Dodds will be calling on previous wins against Leeds United and West Brom this season (both under his watch), to help turn the tide.
As for Beale, he’ll no doubt take a break from football after this difficult spell on Wearside.