Mike Dodds has claimed that the next Sunderland manager will inherit one ‘unbelievable’ thing.
The Black Cats’ search for a new head coach is well underway, with recent reports claiming they are closing in on Reims’ Will Still.
The 31-year-old is said to be preparing to ‘pack his bags’ to complete the move to Wearside in place of Tony Mowbray, while the club have also been linked with the likes of Kim Hellberg and Julien Sable.
Mike Dodds has done a brilliant job as interim manager, guiding the team to back-to-back wins against West Brom and Leeds United.
It’s unclear how long it will be before the 37-year-old gives up the hot seat for a permanent arrival, though it is very clear the players absolutely love him and so it puts a lot less pressure on Kyril Louis-Dreyfus to find a new manager soon.
But Mike Dodds is definitely preparing to step down sometime soon and has named the one thing that his successor will be lucky to inherit.
Speaking after yesterday’s game (as per Sunderland Echo), Dodds said: “Regardless of the two results, whoever takes this job has an unbelievable dressing room.
“They have an honest group of players who are desperate to get better, that really want to propel this club to where we think we should be. Whether that happens or not, the outcome will be the outcome.
“I think the fans can see the players really want to play for the football club which hasn’t always been the case.”
How far can this Sunderland squad go?
Even though the players really seemed to struggle towards the end of Tony Mowbray’s tenure, there was never any complaints of them not putting in the work and or showing dedication to the club.
This side has been transformed from one that would join purely for the wage packet in the Premier League, to a team full of young players that are honoured to make the move to the Stadium of Light.
They genuinely enjoy playing for Sunderland and you can see that in the way we play. Jack Clarke could well have left in the summer but didn’t jump at the first opportunity, and I would be very surprised if he doesn’t stick around until the end of the season to see if he can help us get promoted.
Even though we don’t have the manager that helped develop these young talents, we still have the players with exactly the right attitudes that can help us push on with another head coach.