Mike Dodds reflects on 'mammoth' Sunderland stint as Kristjaan Speakman delivers verdict on exit
The coach left Sunderland to join Wycombe Wanderers earlier this week.
Newly-appointed Wycombe Wanderers head coach Mike Dodds has reflected on his time with Sunderland following his departure from the Stadium of Light earlier this week, claiming that the Black Cats are a “mammoth” club.
The 38-year-old joined Sunderland in 2021, and has been a regular fixture of several head coaches’ backroom staff in the period since. In addition, Dodds has also taken interim charge of the Black Cats, with his most notable stint in the dugout coming during the second half of last season, following Michael Beale’s exit on Wearside.
And in his first interview with his new side, Dodds has admitted that the scale of Sunderland as a club provided plenty of challenges during his time in the North East. When asked about his footballing journey up to this point, he said: “Obviously didn't play - failed footballer, I call myself a failed footballer. Went into coaching very very early so I've had almost two decades worth of coaching at various different levels. Obviously my previous thing was at Sunderland which is a mammoth football club in terms of size and support and you have to develop a very very thick skin very very quickly if you're going to play, coach, or manage that football club.
“But yeah my background is coaching. I think there's a narrative around young players, which I understand because I spent a period of time working within youth, but like I said to some of the senior lads, I think the strongest relationships I forged in my time in the first team environment has been more with the senior lads. I see my role in terms of just helping individuals improve. I think if you can help individuals improve, the byproduct of that is you have a better product on the pitch - a better product on the pitch we win more games.”
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He added: “I've been a kind of assistant coach for probably four or five managers at my previous employers and all four were different personalities, different characters, and what you always try and do is steal the best bits from all four of them. They all worked in completely different ways, so all four would have had a real influence in terms of leadership, day-to-day planning, all those types of things.”
Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman has also offered his reaction to Dodds’ exit, stating: “I think with a lot of the members of staff behind the scenes it’s often not abundantly clear as to how important they are. You’ve got to remember, Mike joined us in League One. He took the chance, and wanted to be part of, the journey. He’s been really instrumental in so many areas of the club, and obviously ultimately more recently stepped in on behalf of the club to take the team. Just really really pleased with the opportunity he’s got, and really proud that we’re developing those kind of people.”
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