Former Sunderland manager ‘set to be named’ manager of EFL club

A former Sunderland manager is reportedly on the verge of making a return to the English Football League for the first time since his departure from the Stadium of Light in January 2022.

Football Insider claim that Lee Johnson is set to be confirmed as the new boss of Fleetwood Town where he will replace former Celtic midfielder Scott Brown in the hot seat.

Johnson’s return to England comes less than two weeks after his dismissal from the Hibs job. He led the Edinburgh outfit to a 5th place finish in the Scottish Premiership last season, but was sacked after a disastrous start this term which saw the Hibeess lose five of their opening nine matches including a 5-0 home defeat to Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League and a 3-2 defeat against Livingston.

Johnson looks set to inherit a Fleetwood team that are 23rd in the League One table. He is hoping to turn around the fortunes of a team that has picked up just one point from their opening six league matches.

The 42-year-old enjoyed a 13 month stay on Wearside between December 2020 and January 2022. He initially made a strong start to life in the Sunderland dugout - in his first six months he guided the Black Cats to a fourth place finish, whilst also winning the EFL trophy in Sunderland’s first Wembley triumph since 1973.

Sunderland ultimately missed out on promotion during the play-offs that season and Johnson’s reign came to an end mid-way through the following campaign after a disappointing 6-0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers.

He left Sunderland in third position in League One but with just one win from their last five matches. The team would go on to win promotion through the play-offs that same season and they defeated Wycombe Wanderers in the final under the guidance of Johnson's successor Alex Neil.