A journalist has explained how long it could take for Sunderland to appoint a new head coach.
It has been ten weeks since Michael Beale was sacked bySunderland, after only 12 games in charge.
The club were grilled for appointing the former Rangers boss in the first place, and instead of taking a risk with his replacement, they instead decided to give Mike Dodds the job until the end of the season.
Having beaten both West Brom and Leeds United in his previous stint back in December, Dodds was expected to carry the Black Cats to the finish line safely.
However, Sunderland have only managed two wins since he was appointed and now sit 15th in the Championship table.
With only one game left, fans can’t wait to bring a turbulent campaign to an end and welcome a new manager.
However, bar a few rumours of interest, there has been very little said about who will take the reins this summer.
With the transfer window likely to open in June and pre-season to start the following month, the Wearside outfit will surely want to replace Dodds fairly quickly.
Sunderland need to be ‘really proactive’
Journalist Phil Smith has now provided an update on when we could see a new head coach come in, explaining what the club ‘need’ to do when the season ends.
Speaking on the Sunderland Echo’s YouTube channel, Smith said: “”I think Sunderland need to be really really proactive at the end of the season.
“The only point of giving Mike Dodds the interim role was that you could say, well this gives them the opportunity to reflect and the opportunity to run a very thorough process and hopefully not rush into another appointment like the Beale one was. So I think it’s absolutely imperitive that we see some positive action at the end of the season, both in terms of communication – coming out and addressing supporters, talking about whats gone wrong, what needs to change, what we have learnt, what’s going to change – and also delivering a little bit of action.
“The biggest thing they can do is give us a new coach, so that’s something that I would really like to see. Do I think it will happen? Yes, I’m fairly sure there will be a quick resolution. Whether it will happen immediately, I don’t know.
“I do think one of the reasons Sunderland are waiting until the end of the season to make an appointment is because they are interested in talking to people who are currently in work. So I think realistically, some candidates may not become available until their respective leagues end, so will that delay it a little bit? I think thats a possibility, however I do think that the process has been progressing behind the scenes and I am hopeful that there is an appreciation and an understanding that they need to be pretty proactive.”
Can Sunderland land Danny Rohl this weekend?
It seems highly likely that Sunderland are waiting for someone who is already in a job, as surely if it was going to be rumoured target Paul Heckingbottom, then we would have just appointed him by now.
It could well be Danny Rohl though, who is on the brink of securing safety for Sheffield Wednesday as they travel to the Stadium of Light this weekend.
His future will surely depend on whether the Owls stay up though, as I would actually be surprised if he chose to move to Wearside if his current club are still in the Championship.
It could well be down to Sunderland to beat them this weekend if they want to snap Rohl up, but I definitely wouldn’t want to put any money on the Black Cats taking any points next time out.
With the board already having ten weeks to find a new coach, supporters will become extremely frustrated if we are still waiting months to appoint someone once the season ends.
We should be bringing someone in within a month of the campaign ending so we can kickstart the new era and give the manager plenty of time to get to know the players, the owner and the fans.