A Sunderland legend has urged frustrated fans to go a bit easier on boss Michael Beale.
Sunderland are a club in a bit of turmoil right now.
The owners decided to sack Tony Mowbray last month, replacing him with former Rangers and QPR boss Beale after being linked with names like Reims boss Will Still.
Still was the club’s first-choice to come in and replace Mowbray, but the Black Cats were unwilling to pay the compensation required to bring in the Belgian-English coach.
Since, Beale has failed to impress, taking just two wins from his opening seven games in charge and becoming a widely unpopular figure among fans.
Kevin Phillips urges Sunderland supporters to be patient
The overwhelming verdict from Sunderland fans on Beale is that he’s not the right man for the job.
Many feel as though they’re just waiting for Beale to be axed and a new boss brought in, but Sunderland legend Kevin Phillips has urged fans to ‘ease off’ Beale, and to show a bit more patience with his process.
Phillips told We Are Sunderland:
“They’re frustrated. It’s been indifferent, but hopefully Michael can get the time to turn it around, stamp his authority and style, go on a little run and get to the play-offs.
“It was the same when Sir Alex Ferguson left Manchester United. Who is going to come in and continue that? It’s not on that level, but it’s similar. He [Beale] knew it was going to be difficult. Generally, when you get a job, it’s when a manager has left because he’s not doing the job well, whereas Tony was.
“It can be difficult and he’s [Beale] clever enough and experienced enough to know if he doesn’t hit the ground running, get results, Sunderland demand that. What they want to see, if they are going to make a change, is an improvement and unfortunately, at the minute, there hasn’t been one for whatever reason.”
The last outing vs Hull City has piled a huge amount of pressure on Beale’s shoulders; the defeat may be forgiven but the performance was as bland a Sunderland performance as we’ve seen in a few years.
Phillips added:
“You could hear it loud and clear on the television [vs Hull City], the supporters venting their frustration. At a time like this, it’s not the manager’s fault. It’s extremely difficult, so I just hope they give him a little bit of time and ease off him a bit. As I say, I’m sure they’re working hard on the training ground.”
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus may be forced to act
Phillips certainly has a point. Fan criticism aside, we’re only seven games into Beale’s tenure and his record isn’t completely woeful, but Sunderland certainly seem to have taken a step backwards.
The Black Cats are now in 10th but still just one win outside the top six; a win and a positive performance against Stoke City this weekend would alleviate a huge amount of pressure for Beale.
But another turgid performance and another defeat would cause uproar.
Sunderland fans are as ambitious as their owners and after seeing the club perform so well under Mowbray, only for all that hard work to be undone in a few weeks, this level of unrest seems inevitable.
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and co may want to give Beale a few more weeks at least, and a few more signings too.
But if this level of unrest among fans persists then the board may need to act sooner rather than later, as they won’t want to completely turn the fans against the regime ahead of next season’s season ticket sales, the business end of this season and so on.
The game against Stoke City on Saturday kicks off at 3pm at the Stadium of Light.