Ex-Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray delivers health update and makes management return claim
Ex-Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray has been speaking about his recovery.
Former Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray has provided an update on his health, and has suggested that he would like to return to football management sooner rather than later.
The 60-year-old was forced to step away from his most recent role with Birmingham City in February, and has been absent from the dugout ever since. Mowbray officially resigned from his role in the Midlands in May. In recent weeks, however, he has been a guest of both Sunderland and another one of his old clubs, Middlesbrough - delivering a speech at half-time during his visit to the Riverside.
And now, the popular former Black Cats chief has spoken out about how he currently feels, and his desire to get back to work in the near future. Speaking to Birmingham’s media team, he said: “I’m great, I don’t think that’s overplaying it. I feel almost back to normal. I’ve still got one procedure, I’ve got a stoma bag attached to my stomach that needs reversing, which I’m getting done this week. Energy levels I feel are back to normal. I can tell because I’m sometimes a self-talker and I’ll say, ‘Shut up, you talk too much!’. I feel good.
“It’s brilliant to be back here, just walking through the car park and seeing all the Blues fans was amazing and I had a fantastic reception. I’ve been to Middlesbrough, I’ve been to Sunderland, the local clubs to where I live in the North East. I’ve been to Newcastle as well. The football world has been amazing, to be honest, the feedback I’ve had and the get well messages from all over the country have been amazing.”
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He added: “Every football club I’ve ever been at has been supportive, they’ve all invited me to come and watch some games. I feel as if I’m almost ready, I want to go back to work sometime soon, in the next few months. I appreciate I’m still a bit weak and to be a football manager you need energy, you need to be at it all the time. I need to give myself a few months, probably playing golf and walking 18 holes. I’ve got three teenage boys who all play golf.”
Mowbray also took the time to attribute his recovery to the care he has received from his wife, and admitted that before anything else he plans on enjoying a holiday with her. He said: “I’m going to take my Florence Nightingale wife away, she’s been amazing over recent months for me, the work and the help and the travelling that she’s done. We’ll go on a nice holiday somewhere and just spend some time together. And after that, I hope to get back to work and do what makes me tick.”