Tony Mowbray exiting the Stadium of Light on Monday evening means Sunderland are now on the hunt for a brand-new manager, hoping to get the next appointment spot on to help the Black Cats push back up the Championship table into the promotion places.
Mowbray was relieved of his duties after reportedly falling out with the Sunderland board – comments after the 1-1 draw with Millwall suggested the 60-year-old former boss was growing frustrated with the “inexperienced” crop of strikers at the club with him further stating that they just weren’t ready to “play for our team.”
Therefore, with the next manager the Stadium of Light hierarchy bring into the building, they will be actively seeking a boss who will be more comfortable working within slight restrictions and nurturing the young talents at his disposal.
Several names are being linked with the attractive vacancy, the options endless as to who Sunderland could opt for next to take charge of the playoff hopefuls.
Sunderland manager latest
The rumour mill has gone into overdrive ever since the news of Mowbray’s exit filtered out of the Durham-based club on Monday, names such as Nathan Jones and Kevin Muscat rumoured as possible options for the Sunderland hot seat.
Outside choices for the vacancy such as Julien Sable have also picked up steam, the current OGC Nice assistant manager linked with a switch to the Stadium of Light.
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Five managers Sunderland could turn to after sacking Tony Mowbray
Sunderland unexpectedly relieved Mowbray of his duties last night, with a number of managers now rumoured for the Stadium of Light vacancy.
Yet, there is one manager yet to be fully linked with the club who could be the perfect Mowbray replacement.
Indeed, an ideal manager the club should consider is John Eustace, the former Birmingham City boss eager to get back into football quickly after leaving St Andrew’s amidst Wayne Rooney’s controversial return to EFL management.
John Eustace’s managerial record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Club | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses |
Kidderminster Harriers | 103 | 55 | 22 | 26 |
QPR (caretaker) | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
Birmingham City | 63 | 21 | 16 | 26 |
Stats via Transfermarkt. | ||||
John Eustace’s managerial record at Birmingham
Eustace had started the Championship season strongly with the Blues before his dismissal took everyone by surprise, winning five of the 11 games he took charge of this campaign in the league.
The 44-year-old had got his players firing on all cylinders too, beating Huddersfield Town 4-1 and West Brom 3-1 in back-to-back games at St Andrew’s before the sacking was made official.
It’s no surprise, therefore, in the aftermath of Eustace being axed that the reaction was one of collective bemusement, former Birmingham midfielder and football pundit Robbie Savage stating that the ex-Watford player turned successful manager had been “very harshly treated” by the Blues.
Eustace – who typically plays a 3-5-2 formation – would jump at the opportunity to find his feet again in the football management world at Sunderland, with the Black Cats arguably missing a trick if they don’t go all out to appoint the former popular Blues boss.
The 44-year-old never complained about the many high-stress situations he found himself under in with Birmingham, continuing to let the football do the talking on the pitch with impressive results before being abruptly axed.
Although he’s lost every game he’s faced against Sunderland, Impressive results were clinched throughout his tenure despite a backdrop of constant change at St Andrew’s being potentially distracting and detrimental, Eustace able to steer the Blues away from relegation danger last campaign when off-field issues began to stack up.
He could be a great fit for Sunderland therefore, Eustace a manager unafraid to roll his sleeves up amidst difficulties and will continue working hard to get results no matter what.
Sunderland might well just need an injection of freshness in the dugout to kickstart a promotion push again, Eustace could provide that and much more if he is appointed as Mowbray’s successor.
