Will Still is out of the running to be the next Sunderland manager, following various reports throughout the evening.
Michael Walker, a freelance reporter for The Athletic, reported earlier that the 31-year-old had concerns over staff and investment at the Black Cats. Sky Sports Keith Downie revealed that the Belgium-born manager had begun searching for places to live in the North East.
According to Craig Hope from The Daily Mail and Roker Report, Still had agreed to join the club five days ago. But when RC Lens came calling, the offer was too good to turn down, particularly with the lure of European football and a return to the country he was previously working in. A move to the north of France appears to be progressing quickly, with a deal reportedly agreed between the two parties.
It is a hugely frustrating turn of events for the Championship side, who first set their eyes on the former Reims manager back in December after Tony Mowbray’s dismissal. He was interviewed as part of the process to appoint the 60-year-olds successor, but compensation was rumoured to have been a stumbling block. Instead, Michael Beale was appointed in what transpired to be a short and disappointing stint, and the club have been without a permanent manager ever since.
Sunderland’s form took a massive hit in the second half of the season, and after Mike Dodds took temporary charge, his record of nine points from thirteen games was the second-worst in the division. Successive Play-Off charges appeared on the cards in the early parts of the campaign, before they eventually whimpered to a sixteenth-placed finish, seventeen points adrift of sixth place.
Still had also been in talks with Norwich City, who ended their much shorter wait to appoint a new gaffer yesterday. Johannes Hoff Thorup was named the Canaries’ new head coach after David Wagner was sacked following their crushing Play-Off Semi-Final defeat to Leeds United.
Writer’s View
This latest development is one that leaves many more questions than answers, with Still the favourite and the only real candidate for the job for months. As a result, the Black Cats have fallen further behind their Championship rivals ahead of the new season.
It raises serious questions of how this scenario was allowed to arise, and is just another bad day in a year that is already becoming one to forget on Wearside. The next appointment must arrive fast, and absolutely has to be correct otherwise fan discontent will grow fast.