Sunderland have been handed a major boost in their pursuit to find a permanent successor for Michael Beale in the Stadium of Light dugout, according to the latest reports.
When Tony Mowbray was relieved of his duties at the beginning of December, the Black Cats sat three points outside the play-offs with a positive-seven goal difference. However, the club’s season has completely derailed in the aftermath of Mowbray’s departure.
The Wearside club are now inside the bottom half of the Championship table, closer to the relegation zone than to the top six. Following an embarrassing 5-1 defeat at home to Blackburn Rovers, Sunderland are 13 points behind Norwich City, who occupy the final play-off place. A dream of earning promotion to the Premier League this season is now all but mathematically dead.
The club’s search for a new manager at the end of the season is still ongoing. Fans and pundits alike will debate whether giving Mike Dodds the job until the end of the campaign was the right call by the ownership but now all eyes have turned to the summer.
A handful of names have already been linked with the job, including former Sheffield United and Leeds United boss Paul Heckingbottom, who helped the Blades earn promotion back to the top-flight last summer.
Another coach who has been touted with taking the vacant position is IF Elfsborg boss Jimmy Thelin who has been with the Swedish outfit for six years now and boasts an overall win ratio of 42.5% at the club. It was reported in Sweden that the 46-year-old had held talks with Sunderland over potentially becoming head coach before Michael Beale took the reins.
Elfsborg director of football Stefan Andreasson has confirmed in an interview with Goteborgs-Posten that there is interest in Thelin’s services and the club will look to find a solution when the right option becomes available to him [quotes via Sport Witness]:
“There is interest and alternatives for him, but we have concluded in our dialogues that he should continue with Elfsborg. Then we will see what the future shows, we are proud that he is a sought-after name.
“In the best of worlds, it’s like with players, that you buy out the coach. But when the right option is available for Jimmy, we will find a solution.”
Writer’s View
It would be a big risk for Sunderland to go down this route given Thelin’s non-existent experience coaching in English football. However, the same was said when Marti Cifuentes took over at Queens Park Rangers back in October, yet look at him now.
Nevertheless, Heckingbottom would also be a decent option as he is someone with plenty of experience in the Championship and helped Sheffield United reach the promised land once more last term. Perhaps he could do the same with the Black Cats.
