Sunderland suffered their sixth consecutive defeat on the weekend as they were beaten 4-2 on the south coast by Southampton.
Following Michael Beale’s departure in February, the Black Cats remain without a permanent manager, as Mike Dodds continues to take interim charge.
Dodds has overseen a dismal run of form that has left Sunderland 11 points adrift of Norwich City, who occupy sixth place.
Any hopes of achieving a play-off position are now gone and attention is already beginning to turn towards next season, with the appointment of a permanent manager likely to be made at the end of the season.
Perhaps Sunderland’s inexperience has played a role in their recent demise, with pressure mounting to attain a play-off position.
On Saturday, Dodds named the Championship’s youngest starting lineup since 2010.
Mike Dodds sets a new Championship record
Following the defeat at St Mary’s, a post emerged on X from journalist Ali Maxwell who noted that Sunderland’s starting 11 on Saturday had the youngest average age in Championship history.
Remarkably, the interim manager fielded a team with an average of 21, which is eight months younger than one of Peterborough United’s XI’s from 2009/10 season, a campaign in which they finished rock bottom.
Whilst it is refreshing to see young talent given an opportunity at the North East club, it seems to be coming at the detriment of their promotion hopes.
To combat inexperience on the pitch, it’s vitally important to have a number of well-season professionals, too.
But, in Sunderland’s case, their oldest player against Southampton was Daniel Ballard, who turned 24 in September.
Sunderland must address inexperience in summer transfer window
It looks as though Sunderland will be spending another season in the Championship as they reside in 12th, someway of the top six.
So, with that said, the club should now be devising a list of targets ahead of the summer transfer window and their top priority has to be adding experience to the squad.
If they have any aspirations of returning to the top flight, they can’t afford to name a side with an average age of 21 again, it’s simply too inexperienced.
That notion is only amplified towards the latter stages of the season when the stakes begin to rise. Young players need the help and guidance of leaders who are well-versed in promotion bids.
So whoever the next permanent manager is, whether it’s Will Still or someone else, they need to address this problem.