Sunderland next manager: Sunderland in advance talks to appoint former Sheffield United gaffer

Sunderland next manager: Sunderland in advance talks to appoint former Sheffield United gaffer

Mike Dodds is now in charge of first-team affairs at the Stadium of Light, serving as interim manager until the end of the season. Given that they’ve wielded the axe twice this season, the Black Cats are under pressure to make their next appointment the right one.

Tony Mowbray began the season in charge but was fired in December, therefore the club switched to former Rangers manager Michael Beale. Beale’s term was brief, as he was stripped of his responsibilities last month.

Heckingbottom is one of Techopedia’s frontrunners for the position, with odds of 9/2 to take over permanently. The 46-year-old has been out of work since December, when he was fired by Sheffield United as the Blades battled for Premier League survival.

He was replaced by Chris Wilder, who had previously led the Blades to promotion in both League One and the Championship. However, he has been unable to stem the downturn, and Sheffield United are still facing relegation to the second division.

Heckingbottom, whose prior teams include Leeds and Barnsley, has been active in the media since his departure and has been brutally honest about his time at Bramall Lane.

Last month, the former Sheffield United manager argued that the club’s identity had been lost following their promotion to the top division in 2023. He stated, “I look at how someone like Luton has gone on – to try and build on what you’ve been doing really, very well, Luton has kept their group together, recruited in a similar fashion to try and develop an identity. We sort of lost our identity because of the financial troubles at the club.”

Only Steve Cooper and Will Still are ahead of Heckingbottom in the betting odds, at 3/1 and 4/1, respectively.

Get more related news on https://sportviewers.com