Sunderland have been told of two ‘ideal’ candidates to replace Mike Dodds this summer.
It’s been a long old season for Sunderland, with fans now desperately wanting it to come to an abrupt end after losing six consecutive games.
Despite picking up wins over Leeds United and West Brom in his first stint in charge back in December, Mike Dodds has looked way out of his depth this time round.
The 37-year-old has really struggled since coming in to temporarily replace Michael Beale, while he is expected to remain in charge until the summer.
There has been little indication of who Sunderland will look to appoint at the end of the season, though there has been plenty of murmurs about Will Still, who was heavily linked with the Wearside outfit before Christmas.
The Black Cats will be working hard behind the scenes to find a manager who will drastically turn things around at the Stadium of Light, while former striker Don Goodman has named two candidates that he believes would be ‘ideal’ for the club.
Speaking via Chronicle Live, Goodman said: “For a high-calibre manager, Sunderland is not an attractive job due to their policies and strategy.
“I’ve seen Steve Cooper linked and he’s an ideal candidate being from an academy background, having worked effectively with young players and succeeded by guiding Swansea to the play-offs twice and taking Nottingham Forest from the bottom of the table to the Premier League. He knows the Championship and has a reputation for moulding young players.
“But is it an attractive job for Steve Cooper when he can’t bring in the players he wants? I just cannot see how they will attract a manager of his pedigree. I hope they are already in the market and talking to prospective new managers. Mike Dodds will be desperate to put a run of results together and be in the conversation but he needs to put results together and quickly.”
He added: “Ian Evatt would be a very good fit for the job. Bolton fans won’t thank me but his style of play is very similar to Tony Mowbray’s in terms of playing in the front-foot, dominating possession and attacking. Would he leave Bolton, though? For all the above reasons he might not want the job.
“Stylistically, he and Steve Cooper would be ideal for Sunderland.”
Is Steve Cooper a fair shout?
Ian Evatt has spent the last four years with Bolton Wanderers, winning them promotion to League One in his first season. After failing to win the playoffs last term, they are now hovering below the automatic promotion spots in the third tier.
Steve Cooper is already well known for his success with Nottingham Forest, having taken them from the bottom of the Championship to the Premier League, as well as also winning the U17 World Cup in 2017.
While I’m not really convinced that we should be continuing to look in England and around the EFL for our new appointment, I am very encouraged by the possibility of Cooper joining.
The Welshman has previously worked wonders with young players and was well-liked at the City Ground, but like Goodman, I would be very surprised if such a manager would be open to joining a club where he has very little control.
Kristjaan Speakman‘s presence and the role that he plays at Sunderland is going to make it very difficult to tempt any high-profile manager to the club, because why wouldn’t they want to make their own signings?