Sunderland fans have been left shocked after it was confirmed that Tony Mowbray had been sacked yesterday.
While there are many people that were pushing for his sacking after a run of poor form, it came as quite a surprise to see him sent packing so soon.
The Black Cats have put on some dreadful performances in recent weeks, but Tony Mowbray failed to make any big changes and appeared to be rather stubborn with his team selection, substitutions and style of play.
While it is unclear who is going to replace the 60-year-old at the minute, Sunderland players will likely not feel quite as comfortable with their place in the squad now that they will have to impress a new manager in the coming weeks.
Here are five players who could be negatively affected by Tony Mowbray’s exit…
Luke O’Nien
Luke O’Nien was clearly a favourite of Tony Mowbray, having taken the captain’s armband in Corry Evans’ absence and going onto start in 18 of Sunderland’s 19 games in the Championship so far.
While the 29-year-old did score against Huddersfield Town last week, the Black Cats’ defence has really struggled and he seems to be right at the centre of it.
Dan Ballard has been brilliant for the most part this season, so we could see a new manager potentially look to replace O’Nien – whether it be with Jenson Seelt or a new January arrival.
Corry Evans
Corry Evans has been out injured since the home victory over Middlesbrough in January, while Sunderland opted to extend his contract by a further year a month later.
The midfielder will have been out for around a year by the time he returns, but Mowbray could have definitely brought him back into the picture given how important he had been for him previously.
However, a new manager doesn’t really have any loyalties to the Northern Ireland international.
With it looking very likely that we will add to our midfield in January, it wouldn’t surprise me if the 33-year-old falls further down the pecking order under new management.
Bradley Dack
Bradley Dack was either going to be brilliant or useless with a lot of injuries, and it doesn’t take a genius to work out how it’s gone so far.
The midfielder has been completely ineffective since joining Sunderland, while he has already missed around two months of action due to fitness issues.
However, he was Mowbray’s mate from Blackburn Rovers and so somehow kept being brought on when we would need a goal.
Surely a new manager will know that Dack is far from the quality we need and will be prepared to kick him out of the squad altogether.
Chris Rigg
Chris Rigg has huge potential and Tony Mowbray has worked with him brilliantly to gradually develop and grow him on Wearside.
The teenager signed a professional contract with Sunderland this year despite interest elsewhere and it wouldn’t surprise me if Mowbray was a key part of that.
While a new manager will undoubtedly see Rigg’s talent, we will have to wait and see whether they are prepared to give him regular chances in the senior team.
Niall Huggins
After a terrible first two years at Sunderland, Niall Huggins had finally earned himself a regular spot under Tony Mowbray.
The 60-year-old clearly really liked him and reports had claimed that the defender was in discussions over a new deal.
While most will hope that Huggins will still stick to that, there is always the possibility that Dennis Cirkin and Aji Alese could return from injury and the new manager could prefer one of them.