The ongoing manager saga at Sunderland continues to rumble on for another day, but Black Cats fans will be more than happy to wait it out for a new permanent boss – rather than growing impatient – owing to interim face Mike Dodds delivering two wins from two taking over immediately from Tony Mowbray.
It wasn’t as if Dodds had easy games on paper either, occupying the dug-out as a rookie option facing off against Carlos Corberan and Daniel Farke managing stern sides aiming for promotion in West Bromwich Albion and Leeds United.
Yet, come full-time in both those enthralling contests, the 37-year-old interim manager had gotten the better of the two experienced EFL heads – Sunderland deservedly winning 2-1 and 1-0 respectively in great occasions at the Stadium of Light.
Dodds will more than likely remain in charge for the game at Bristol City this weekend, but news coming out of Sunderland recently indicates that the extensive search for Mowbray’s successor could soon be over with one rumoured name even being ruled out of the running.
Sunderland manager latest – Kim Hellberg
Reports from L’Equipe over the last few days indicate that Will Still is very much the favourite at this moment in time to replace Mowbray, the current Stade De Reims boss is allegedly ‘interested’ in the vacancy at Sunderland after positively talking with the club.
Yet, Still didn’t show any signs of being fazed by the media attention and the allure of potentially joining Sunderland when discussing the rumours at Reims training recently.
The eccentric 31-year-old stated “you shouldn’t believe everything you read in the press” when quizzed by the media about whether he would relocate to the Stadium of Light from France for the job post, throwing another spanner in the works.
One manager’s availability for the Black Cats job that isn’t still shrouded in uncertainty is Kim Hellberg however, with the Swedish hot property looking to stay in his native country for the time being instead of joining the Championship club.
Kim Hellberg’s managerial style
Hellberg’s style as a manager would have been well suited for Sunderland, a fresh and new outlook on the game far different to Mowbray’s.
During his time with IFK Varnamo, the exciting 35-year-old has managed to catapult the Allsvenskan minnows into the limelight – taking the club from tenth position in the standings to a far higher fifth under one season of his coaching.
Sunderland therefore saw Hellberg as a perfect long-term option in keeping with what Black Cats chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus wanted in his next appointment, someone with a clear and distinct identity as a manager.
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Sunderland could think outside of the box with this new potential manager, hoping to have their very own Graham Potter if the appointment works.
Yet, it looks as if Hellberg will join Hammarby IF over testing his managerial skills abroad with the Tyne and Wear outfit – Swedish football website SportBladet reporting that the coach is set to be unveiled as Hammarby’s next manager imminently despite having an interview with Sunderland.
This will be a disappointing outcome for the Black Cats, who would have hoped sealing a deal for Hellberg meant they could have struck gold and found their very own Graham Potter-like figure.
Potter excelled when making the transition to EFL football from managing in Scandinavia, with QPR also reaping the rewards now for appointing an unorthodox option in Marti Cifuentes from Sweden – Cifuentes steering the relegation-threatened Hoops to three wins from their last four matches.
Sunderland will just be going full steam ahead now attempting to get the Still deal over the line, hoping that the Belgian manager doesn’t end up rejecting the opportunity and the club are back to square one again.
