Journalist Phil Smith has given his verdict on Sunderland potentially hiring a new boss before the season is over.
Sunderland sacked Michael Beale in February, and since, the Black Cats have won just once.
There was a feeling that Beale leaving would take the negativity away from this season.
The well-liked Mike Dodds retuned for a third interim spell, but from the get-go, it seemed as though he’d taken over a sinking ship.
The first half of his first game against Swansea City set the tone for the seven games which have followed.
Sunderland beat Cardiff City 2-0 on Good Friday but went on to lose 5-1 at home to Blackburn Rovers on Easter Monday.
It’s Sunderland’s biggest Easter Monday defeat since 1959.
Sunderland set to hire a new manager in the summer
Dodds is only in charge until the summer.
And with results remaining poor, it seems inevitable that the club will make an outside hire in the summer.
But on that same note, there’s growing calls among fans for owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and sporting director Kristjaan Speakman to bring in a new manager before the summer.
Discussing this possibility, journalist Smith said after the Blackburn defeat:
“I have mixed feelings about this. If your preferred candidate is out-of-work, then go get them… I would still hate the idea of them [the board] panicking, and bringing in the wrong person again, just because they’re available now.
“I would rather go through a bit more pain over the next few weeks to get the right person in for next season. However, if the right person’s available now, I supposes there’s a risk of putting them on the backfoot, but with the players coming back, I do think someone should be able to come in and get a tune, to an extent, out of these players.
“My honest answer to that is I don’t see the point of waiting, if the right person is available now.”
Phil Smith comments could make Steve Cooper ideal for the Black Cats
Louis-Dreyfus and Speakman need to oversee a big improvement next season; that’s a given.
A lot will go into making next season a positive one with the summer transfer window bound to play a huge, defining factor.
And of course the manager will, too.
And if Louis-Dreyfus and Speakman think Sunderland finishing this season in better form than they’re in now will help benefit them next season, then they should certainly consider a hire now.
If Sunderland can get some positivity back amongst the club before the summer then it could help with recruiting players, and even with giving the players momentum ahead of next season.
But like Smith says, it depends on who it is Sunderland want.
If it’s an out-of-work manager like Steve Cooper, who is well-liked by the Sunderland hierarchy, then appointing him now could be ideal; especially with Welsh fans on Twitter calling for Cooper to take the national team job.
So there’s a lot to weigh up right now.
But Sunderland simply cannot make another rushed appointment, like Smith says.