Next Sunderland AFC manager RECAP: Cats hold talks with Roy Keane and Grant McCann as Kyril Louis-Dreyfus weighs up options

The central defender joined Shrewsbury on transfer deadline day and has been talking about the move.

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Lee Johnson has released a statement via the League Managers Association about his Sunderland exit.

It reads: “Firstly, I would like to thank Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, Kristjaan Speakman and the Board of Directors for allowing me the opportunity to be Head Coach at this great Club.

“To all the staff, whether that be my coaching team, players, the office staff, academy, training ground and stadium operations, your efforts have been nothing short of extraordinary. You are the heartbeat of the club and you should all be very proud. There are some amazing people within Sunderland AFC and some of you will be friends for life. Whether it be Karen Casey going above and beyond the call of duty, Joyce Rome’s fierce and unwavering support, or those who participated in our staff 6-a-side games on Fridays, there are far too many heroes at that football club to name you all.

“Upon arrival, my remit was changing the playing philosophy at the club, reducing the average age of the first team squad, and all the while competing for and gaining promotion. I leave the Football Club knowing we were on the right path, which gives me incredible satisfaction. I tried to lead the team with honesty and integrity from the moment I stepped through the door. I am extremely proud of the hard work put in by a talented set of players and staff. Working together tirelessly on the training ground with such quality has been an honour.”

Johnson added: “I have absolutely loved my time in the North East and am very grateful for the experience of managing Sunderland AFC. Nothing would make me happier than to see the club rise back to the top.”

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It was announced earlier this week that an interim coaching team has been put in place to lead first-team training ahead of tomorrow’s match against Doncaster.

Head of Individual Player Development Mike Dodds is leading the team, which also includes under-23s coach Michael Proctor, first-team coach Phil Jevons and goalkeeping coach David Preece.

It’s looking increasingly likely they will lead the team for tomorrow’s match at the Stadium of Light.

Speakman has also said Sunderland tried to sign another centre-back in the final days of the January transfer window and could still explore the free agent market.

He explained: “As soon as the transfer window finishes you are in pursuit of always trying to improve the group and the squad.

“We will always look at that free agency market because you always want to make sure there is nothing that you might have missed or someone who can add additional value.

“We are doing that now over sort of a three or four day period where we run that.”

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Former Hull manager Grant McCann is also known to be under consideration after talks with the Sunderland hierarchy.

There has also been interest from former Middlesbrough boss Neil Warnock.

The Daily Mail have reported that Alex Neil is one of the leading three contenders, alongside Keane and McCann.

Neil is also out of work after a spell at Preston between 2017-2021.

The 40-year-old also led Norwich to promotion from the Championship in 2015.

So what about Roy Keane then?

The Echo understands there were tentative expressions of interest from Keane following Phil Parkinson’s departure from the club in late 2020, but talks did not progress.

Keane has emerged as a strong candidate this time around, though, and appears to be the club’s favoured option after talks with multiple contenders.

While he has held several coaching positions, the former Manchester United midfielder hasn’t managed since 2011 when he left Ipswich Town.

Keane has recently expressed his interest to get back into management, though, and would clearly be a popular appointment.

Sunderland’s Sporting Director Kristjaan Speakman spoke to the SAFC Unfiltered podcast about the club’s search for a new head coach yesterday.

He said: “The process is well under way.

“We have had a little bit of a delay because of the last 24 hours of the transfer window.

“That was really, really important because from an integrity perspective and what we are as a football club, what we didn’t want to do was to pursue a search process when we still had a person in situ, I think that’s just disrespectful to the person.

“We want to make sure those conversations are had and then we can get on with the fresh direction.

“We are well under way with that and that’s a search which is led by myself in conjunction with our executive team, so Steve Davison and Kyril, we have members of the board who are assisting with that.

“On top of that we have our football management team at the AOL who also integrate with that because the head coach has to work as part of that team.

“We have to ensure the connection and relationships between those people are going to be effective or you are just creating a problem further down the track.”

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Hello and welcome to Friday’s SAFC live blog.

The Black Cats’ search for a new head coach is well under way, yet an appointment before tomorrow’s match against Doncaster is looking less likely.

Sunderland have spoken to multiple candidates this week and hope to make a decision soon.

We’ll have live updates and the latest SAFC news right here throughout the day.