Sunderland 'interested' in Sheffield Wednesday man and Belgian manager amid head coach search

Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl has been linked with the head coach's position at Sunderland.

The 34-year-old was only appointed at Hillsborough in October, his first manager's job after coaching roles with RB Leipzig, Southampton, Bayern Munich and the German national team. Wednesday were seven points from safety, following a 10-match winless run at the start of this season, when Rohl was appointed but are now just a point below the drop zone.

According to i News, Sunderland have shown interest in Rohl, along with Reims boss Will Still and an unnamed Belgian managerial target. Sunderland named Mike Dodds as the club’s interim boss until the end of the season in February, following Michael Beale's short spell at the Stadium of Light.

When asked recently about the club's head coach search and conversations with Sunderland's hierarchy, Dodds said: "The last conversation I had, and this was prior to the last couple of games, was that they had shortlisted a number of potential candidates and that they were going to take their time in speaking to those people. They want to make sure they get the next appointment right and they don't want to rush that decision. 

"If they feel like they've got the right candidate tomorrow, then they will be in the day after tomorrow obviously. If they don't, then they will wait. That was the message I was given a few weeks back and I've not been told that anything has changed. If anything changes then they will communicate that with me. 

“We've got some big games coming up because we need to change the feeling of the football club, and we know that the best way to do that is to win games of football."

Sunderland will return to action when they travel to Cardiff after the international break on Friday, March 29. The Black Cats' final game of the campaign is set to be played at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, May 4 against Rohl's Sheffield Wednesday, who could need a win to stay in the Championship.