LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 14: Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, Chairman of Sunderland reacts during the on March 14, 2021 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around England remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Sunderland may find it difficult to hire their latest manager target.
Sunderland have recently suffered another setback in their ongoing manager search, after Liam Rosenior withdrew himself from contention.
The 39-year-old, who was sacked by Hull City at the end of last season after guiding the Tigers to a 7th place finish in the Championship, was only speculatively linked with the Sunderland job at first.
It was then revealed that he was under consideration. Rosenior rapidly emerged as a front-runner after Will Still was appointed RC Lens manager and Pascal Jansen was taken out of contention.
Rosenior held talks with Sunderland but rejected a second interview, with the former full-back wanting to further discuss the possibility of becoming the next Burnley manager.
Since, it’s been revealed that the Sunderland have two unnamed candidates still in the running and in talks with owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and sporting director Kristjaan Speakman.
Sunderland also like QPR manager Marti Cifuentes after his impressive turnaround with the R’s last season; he guided QPR to an eventual 18th place finish in the Championship.
Carlton Palmer comments on Marti Cifuentes future at QPR
Cifuentes, 41, landed the QPR job in October 2023. He left Hammarby in Sweden and joined an R’s side sitting in 23rd place of the Championship table.
QPR looked destined for relegation under Gareth Ainsworth. But Cifuentes would earn high praise for not only dragging QPR to safety, but doing so by playing confident, attacking football.
After setting the foundations for what could be a very promising project at QPR, pundit Carlton Palmer believes the Spaniard would be inclined to stay, despite previous links with Burnley, and now Sunderland.
Palmer previously said: “It was a remarkable turnaround from Cifuentes… I think there will be a lot of clubs looking at the job that Cifuentes has done at QPR.
