An imaginary stadium's modelled and rendered.
Sunderland have been in search of a permanent manager for some time now, with Kyril Louis-Dreyfus yet to appoint a successor for Michael Beale after 122 days of looking, and Ally McCoist believes a young manager is needed to take the club forward.
After an underwhelming season of stagnation in the second tier in finishing 16th in the league, there are bound to be a number of changes behind the scenes at the Stadium of Light, with the futures of many players up for discussion in both the short and long-term, as well as the need for a new man in the dugout.
Sunderland have been without a manager since the sacking of Beale in February, and their search for his permanent replacement has now gone on for over 100 days. A host of names have been linked with the Sunderland job in recent months, including the likes of Alex Neil, Marek Papszun, Steve Cooper, Will Still, Roy Keane, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, Scott Parker, Danny Rohl, Jermain Defoe, Rene Maric, Paul Heckingbottom, Bo Svensson, Pascal Jansen, Dave Challinor, Stephen Robinson, and Liam Rosenior.
It’s believed that part of the hold up in making an appointment has been due to many of the candidates holding reservations about working with Sunderland’s Sporting Director, Kristjaan Speakman. A swift appointment would also have allowed for an easier summer, but things have dragged on for a long time, with many candidates heading elsewhere or not interested in the role.
Ally McCoist’s Sunderland manager search verdict
Speaking to Football League World, we asked Ally McCoist who he thinks the next Sunderland manager should be. The talkSPORT broadcaster, TNT Sport pundit, and ITV commentator was disappointed to see Tony Mowbray sacked, but now believes that a younger head coach is needed to guide the Championship’s youngest squad into 2024/25.
He said: “The situation at Sunderland breaks my heart!
“One of the biggest mistakes they made was getting rid of Tony Mowbray – I don’t care what anyone says! Tony’s a smashing lad and I wish him well and hope he’s on good form.
“He got them into the play-offs. They got beaten by Luton but it was still a good achievement and it looked like Tony was taking them places.
“All of a sudden, he lost his job, and that, for me, was a massive error.
“They need to get a coach in there and give him a little bit of time. I’d like to see a young manager go in there and be given the opportunity over two or three years to just get on with it.
“They need to find a good, young coach – one that they believe in – and say, ‘no matter what happens, we’re going to give you a couple of seasons’.”
