Carlton Palmer has explained what he thinks Sunderland are ‘likely’ to do in their search for a new manager.
It has been over a week since Sunderland sacked Michael Beale and promoted Mike Dodds as interim head coach for the rest of the season.
The Black Cats already spent weeks appointing their former manager only two months ago, having already been linked with the likes of Will Still and Kim Hellberg.
However, their decision proved to be the wrong one and Sunderland now aren’t prepared to go through the rigmarole of finding a permanent manager for the second time this campaign.
Instead, they will wait it out until the summer and give themselves plenty of time to find the right candidate who can finally lead them back to the Premier League.
A number of names have already been thrown into the hat, including the likes of former Sunderland boss Alex Neil, Steve Cooper and Roy Keane.
However, ex-midfielder Carlton Palmer has quickly shut down talk of bringing in one of those well-known names from England, claiming Sunderland are ‘likely’ to look abroad.
Speaking to Football League World, he said: “Mike Dodds is well thought of by the backroom staff, by the hierarchy at Sunderland, and they don’t want to lose him, so they’re giving him every opportunity.
“Should he get some good results between now and the end of the season then of course his name’s going to be in the frame.
“But I think it’s going to be highly unlikely Mike Dodds will be the new manager of Sunderland.
“I think Sunderland are possibly waiting until the end of the season to make their approach for whoever the manager they have on their radar.
“It’s likely to be a foreign coach, I think.”
Who will Sunderland look at now?
Sunderland haven’t actually been linked to that many foreign managers so far, despite previously making their intentions of looking across Europe quite clear.
The Black Cats were heavily linked with Will Still before Christmas and he is looking like one of their most likely candidates this time round too.
The 31-year-old has already admitted that he would be willing to join a Championship club and, if Sunderland are prepared to pay the compensation fee, then he certainly makes a huge lot of sense.
Sunderland fans are used to knowing their new managers very well and being rather underwhelmed, but we would be going into unknown territory if we brought some young up-and-coming coach in. Though it is definitely a risk worth taking, as it isn’t something we have really tried before.