Ex-Sunderland boss reflects on 'difficult to take' Black Cats exit, hails £9m player sale

Former Sunderland manager Lee Johnson has admitted that his dismissal from the Stadium of Light was “difficult to take”, but insists that his stint with the club did also include some “little successes”.

Johnson took charge of the Black Cats between December 2020 and January 2022, winning 42 of his 78 matches in the dugout and guiding his side to an EFL Trophy triumph at Wembley. When he was relieved of his duties on Wearside, Sunderland sat third in the League One table, but his final outing ended in a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Bolton Wanderers that ultimately proved to be final nail in the coffin of his tenure.

And in a far-reaching interview with Sky Sports, Johnson has now suggested that his exit from the Stadium of Light was hard to stomach, while also emphasising some of the positive notes of his time on Wearside - especially in the transfer market. He said: "That [leaving Sunderland] was difficult to take. But there are always those little successes. Players like Ross Stewart, signed from Ross County, sold for £9m."

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Johnson also admitted that he is keen to make a return to the world of management, having spent time with Hibernian and Fleetwood Town after his stint at Sunderland. He added: "If you get sacked by Fleetwood that puts some people off but I think that is short-term thinking.

“What it taught me is that you really need to do a deep dive into the club you are joining, know the squad dynamic and whether you can have the impact you expect. You need a place where you can really implement the qualities of your work and add value to that organisation. With that in mind, I have been brave enough since then to turn down some jobs.”

When musing on where is next opportunity might come, Johnson said: "I think it is somewhere between the bottom half of the Championship and the top six of League Two. My record in the Championship holds up well. In a way, my methods are better served at a higher level. The challenge lower down is to simplify complexity."