A former Sunderland player has admitted that he wants to be the next Black Cats manager, saying he understands the “culture” of the club.
Sunderland manager updates
The Black Cats parted company with Michael Beale last month, following a hugely disappointing short stint in charge, having initially replaced Tony Mowbray.
Since then, Mike Dodds has taken charge of the first team once again as interim manager, but results in the Championship have still been poor. Six straight defeats leave Sunderland languishing in 12th place, and their playoff hopes are firmly in the rear view mirror.
Dodds will be in charge at the Stadium of Light until the end of the season, but the search is ongoing to find a permanent replacement for Beale, in order to bring some stability back to the club.
Reims manager Will Still has emerged as a contender to come in for some time now, with the 31-year-old a highly thought of young coach with a potentially big future in the game. A “well established” agent has claimed that a Championship move is on the cards for him.
Meanwhile, it was recently reported that former Sunderland boss Alex Neil is open to the idea of returning to the club, having left for Stoke City after getting the Black Cats promoted in 2022.
Ex-Sunderland ace has applied for manager’s job
In quotes shared by The Daily Mail, Dwight Yorke says he has applied to be Sunderland’s next manager.
“It’s a club that I’ve actually handed my CV into recently, if I’m honest, because I want the job. I know enough of Sunderland; I lived in the area for nearly three years, and so I understand the culture up there, and what the supporters want and expect from that team.
“It’s very difficult to assess what’s going on behind the scenes when you’re not in it. You can only assume things, and that can sometimes be a dangerous thought process. The important thing would be to go in there and stabilise things. Most importantly, I’m a football fan through and through, and so the football aspect is my biggest concern.”
This has certainly come out of left-field, considering Yorke has next to no real experience in management. Barring a six-month stint with A-League side Macarthur FC in 2022, in which he did win the Australian Cup final, in fairness, there is little else on the Trinidadian’s CV to suggest that he warrants a Championship job.
He was only in charge of 18 matches there, averaging 1.78 points per game.
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For that reason, it is extremely difficult to see Sunderland’s owners taking a punt on Yorke, at a time when a proven manager needs to arrive and ensure that the playoffs are the aim next season, assuming the Black Cats miss out this term.
Granted, he is a former Sunderland player and knows the club well, but that would only get him so far, so hiring him would feel like a huge gamble, and perhaps he should be applying to a backroom role instead.
