Sunderland have now been warned they have missed out on a manager set for the Premier League.
Sunderland are now way past the 100 day mark since sacking Michael Beale, while they are closing in on a week since Kyril Louis-Dreyfus claimed an appointment would be made ‘imminently’.
The Black Cats have been linked with a long list of names since February, and it was expected their manager hunt would conclude fairly quickly after the season ended.
However, after missing out on first choice Will Still, things have gone from bad to worse.
The club have now failed to appoint Still, Danny Rohl, Rene Maric, Bo Svensson, Pascal Jansen and now Liam Rosenior.
The latter was set for a second round of talks on Wearside this week and looked the most likely to take the hot-seat, but reports claiming he was a candidate for the Burnley job resulted in him withdrawing from the running.
Liam Rosenior is the best unemployed Championship manager around
While many fans weren’t particularly pleased about Rosenior’s potential arrival anyway, pundit Ryan Dilks has claimed Sunderland have actually missed out on a manager destined for the Premier League.
Speaking on the Second Tier Podcast, Dilks said: “Liam was in here as my first choice as an available manager on the market to Championship clubs. I just think it’s ridiculous really that he’s out of work, because he didn’t deserve the sack at Hull. Not at all.
“Considering how far he’s taken the club in the short amount of time that he was there, you know, a club who were in the relegation battle and has now left them on the edge of the playoffs is just brilliant.
“I think you’d be a fool as a Championship club not to be looking at him, and I think at some point he will be Premier League manager. I’ve got no doubt about that at all.
“I think in terms of everything that we have seen so far, considering he’s still in his late thirties, he’s still quite a young coach. He’s accomplished so much so far in such a short career and he just has all the elements to be a Premier League manager at some point. I think he’s just got it all.”
Sunderland aren’t going to end up with a better option than Rosenior
Liam Rosenior’s failure to reach the play-offs seemed to concern a number of Sunderland fans, though transforming them from a relegation-threatened team went relatively unnoticed.
The concerns around his style of play may have been understandable, but in the Black Cats’ situation, they couldn’t really be picky and Rosenior now looks as if he would have been a really good option compared to whoever they are going to end up with.
The former Hull coach hasn’t even reached his 40th birthday yet and, while he has a lot to learn, it is very clear he has a knack for management.
Sunderland have definitely missed out on a really good opportunity there, but it is no surprise at all that he has declined the opportunity to move to Wearside.
However, if Burnley go with another candidate, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus should consider returning for the 39-year-old.