This 46-year-old coach may now be a dark horse for the Sunderland manager job, after recent developments.
Sunderland remain with a manager after sacking Michael Beale in February.
Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus continues to miss out on reported candidates too, with Bo Svensson having taken the Union Berlin job, whilst Danny Rohl and Steve Cooper are now highly unlikely to arrive at the Stadium of Light.
Last week, it looked like Will Still would join the growing list of managers linked with Sunderland, but heading elsewhere.
Still was spoken to by Norwich City but the Canaries now look set to hire Johannes Hoff Thorup; it’s been claimed though that Still to Sunderland is becoming increasingly unlikely either way.
There’s a very shortening list of names tipped to become the next Sunderland manager. But one who remains available is Paul Heckingbottom.
Plymouth Argyle appoint Wayne Rooney
Heckingbottom, 46, was linked with the Plymouth Argyle job previously, with reports that Heckingbottom was set to be interviewed for the job.
But Plymouth have since appointed Wayne Rooney as their new manager, leaving former Sheffield United boss Heckingbottom free to pursue other opportunities.
It was previously revealed that Heckingbottom was the no.1 target for Sunderland, and with names dropping out of contention for the Black Cats job and pressure mounting on club officials to hire a new manager, Heckingbottom may well become a dark horse, if not a front-runner, for the job.
3 reasons why Paul Heckingbottom would be a good fit for Sunderland
Heckingbottom brings many things to the table. But one thing he brings in abundance is experience.
He was once a youth player at Sunderland, going on to play well over 400 times as a professional footballer with the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Barnsley, Bradford City, and others.
And Heckingbottom has now overseen 265 games as a manager having had stints with all of Barnsley, Leeds United, Hibernian, and Sheffield United, with an overall win rate of exactly 40%.
He earned promotion from League One as Barnsley boss and promotion from the Championship with Sheffield United last year.
Heckingbottom, having been in the game for a long time now, will also have plenty of contacts that could come in handy if he were to become the next Sunderland manager.
Someone like Still however, at just 31 years old and still very inexperienced in the dugout, may not have such contacts in the game.
And something that will be big for Sunderland officials with the next appointment is communication skills; Beale fell out with the club and fans, largely because of things he said in the media as well as the negative playing style.
Heckingbottom though is a coach who always came across well at Sheffield United. He’s experienced enough to say the right things at the right times and with a club like Sunderland, who boast a really passionate fan base, that kind of communication could go a long way.
Sunderland seem determined to take a gamble on a young coach like Still. But, as we saw with the successes of Alex Neil and Tony Mowbray at the club, someone with more experience can have a lot to offer.