Sunderland have suffered yet another blow in their hunt for a new manager.
Sunderland have endured an arduous hunt for a new manager, with the search having picked up in the last few weeks.
The Black Cats are now approaching the four-month mark since they sacked Michael Beale in February and owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus appears to be no closer to hiring his replacement.
Will Still was the long-term target. It was claimed that the 31-year-old had agreed to become the next Sunderland manager, before pulling out at the last minute and taking the RC Lens job.
Pascal Jansen was then heavily linked with the job at the Stadium of Light. The former AZ Alkmaar boss was a well-liked candidate among Sunderland supporters, before his name was pulled out of contention.
That left Liam Rosenior as what seemed like the only remaining candidate for the Sunderland job.
He was set for further talks with Louis-Dreyfus and the Sunderland search team, though he also has interest from Burnley.
Now, Alan Nixon has reported on Patreon that Rosenior has pulled himself out of contention to become the next Sunderland manager.
Liam Rosenior withdraws from running to become next Sunderland manager
Nixon has revealed on his Patreon that Rosenior is ‘out of the race for the Sunderland job in a shock twist’.
Nixon adds that Rosenior ‘pulled out of a second interview’ with Sunderland and that he’s hoping to land the Burnley job instead.
Burnley though have other names ahead of Rosenior in their managerial shortlist, with the likes of Frank Lampard also linked.
Lastly, Nixon adds that Sunderland ‘will have to dig dep to land Marti Cifuentes’ at QPR, who would require a compensation fee.
What next for Sunderland in manager hunt
Sunderland fans are coming to the end of their tether. This manager search has been painstaking and only gets worse with this latest update on Rosenior.
The fact that he’s completely pulled out of the running in the hope that he lands the Burnley job, when there’s others ahead of him, speaks volumes about the state of the Sunderland job right now.
Louis-Dreyfus is rapidly running out of names he could hire this summer and if Rosenior wasn’t already a back-up plan, whoever the next manager is will certainly be a back-up option.
Sunderland have already missed out on top target Still. But they could still make an appointment that would seemingly go down well with fans; Cifuentes.
He worked wonders at QPR last season, guiding them to an 18th place finish, and doing so by playing nice and aggressive football.
The Spaniard would require a compensation fee, but by this point of the search process, Louis-Dreyfus may be willing to pay it, and finally sort out the club’s manager saga.