Ex-Sunderland boss slams season-changing decision as summer transfer interest confirmed

Sunderland may not be competing at the top or the bottom of the Championship table, but they'll still be keen to end the season on a high. A top half finish is up for grabs and should they beat Millwall on Saturday afternoon, Mike Dodds' side could well move up to 11th in the table with just two more games to play.

Ahead of that contest, the Sunderland Echo has rounded up some of the latest stories.

Mowbray sacking 'backfired'

Former Sunderland boss Simon Grayson believes the Black Cats' decision to part ways with Tony Mowbray in December has come back to bite them. Sunderland were ninth and pushing for a play-off spot when the Mowbray was dismissed and ultimately replaced by Michael Beale.

Of course, Beale lasted just two months in the job before he was eventually sacked and the club have struggled for traction ever since. Grayson admits it has been a tough season for the Wearside outfit, but he believes they would have been far better off sticking with Mowbray.

"After an excellent season last year, this year has been turbulent for the club," Grayson told Betway. "Losing Tony Mowbray who was doing a good job was a surprise to many. Moving into next season, the club must identify the head coach they want to take the team forward and also the philosophy they want to follow.

"Sunderland have a talented young squad and it will be a shame to lose their top players if they chop and change coaches. Identifying a way of playing can help them push for a play-off spot.

"It is one of frustration for them because they got into a very good position under Tony, and I think that is a decision that is going to be tough to work out and understand. We talk about hindsight being a big thing, but that just seemed a strange decision at the time. It's backfired on them without a shadow of doubt."

Patterson interest genuine

Arsenal, Liverpool and Celtic have been linked with summer moves for Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson and the Echo understands the interest is genuine. The stopper, who has appeared in Sunderland's last 109 league games, has caught the eye of top flight outfits, who appreciate that he could be a valuable commodity moving forward.

The 23-year-old is a graduate of the Sunderland academy and he's just one of several high profile players being linked away this summer.

Read the full story here

What happened next?

It's 10 years to the day since Sunderland beat Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford Bridge and the Sunderland Echo has taken a look back at the team that played that day in the Premier League.

Connor Wickham and Fabio Borini were the scorers that day for Sunderland, here's who else played.