Next Sunderland manager: What we know about the search right now and who is in frame

A couple of days on from Tony Mowbray's swift and largely surprising Sunderland departure, it remains unclear who it will be who succeeds him. All the same, there are a few key clues as to what Sunderland supporters can expect next.

While sources have indicated that they don't expect it to be a hugely lengthy process, and things can move unexpectedly quickly in football, it is now abundantly clear that there was no clear successor to Mowbray identified when he departed.

Sunderland clearly track potential head coaches of interest on a continuous basis and as such, will have already had something approaching a shortlist drawn up when deciding to part ways with Mowbray. What is now underway is the process of establishing their preferred candidate from that list. That will of course be done through an interview process, as well as through referencing from contacts in the game.

While it may seem strange that Mowbray departed without a clear successor already identified, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus' comments at the time made clear that this was not purely about results and in fact, that may not have even have been the overriding factor. He spoke of performance culture behind the scenes, and the continuing development of the club's playing style. What now seems clear is that the frustrating results of late were the catalyst for bringing longer-term tensions behind the scenes to a head.

The next appointment is clearly not about a short-term fix but about the longer-term execution of what is Louis-Dreyfus' very clear vision for how we wants the club to operate. As such, the indications are that while they are eager to make the appointment as quickly as possible, they do not want to rush it unduly and will certainly not make a decision based purely on an upcoming gameweek. That may be frustrating for some supporters given the stakes of the play-off battle, but Sunderland's hierarchy have their clear way of operating.

We already have a good sense of what Louis-Dreyfus and therefore sporting director Kristjaan Speakman are looking for. Mowbray was increasingly frustrated by what he felt was a need for more experience both in the transfer market but more importantly for him, in the starting XI. The head coach was known to be frustrated by what he felt was a pressure to play and integrate certain players - though on both of these fronts Mowbray was the first to admit that he knew that those were the parameters when he took the job.

As such, the new appointment will almost certainly be someone who has previously worked within a similar structure elsewhere - and will be happy with the limitations on their role. Given Louis-Dreyfus' clear desire for a modern approach behind the scenes, it is almost certain to be an 'up and coming' coach in the earlier stages of their career. Given that there will almost certainly be a focus on developing the players increasingly arriving at the club from different leagues, both those here now and those arriving in the future, the early indications are that Sunderland will likely look abroad - though their search has in the early stages not exclusively been along those lines.

With that in mind, we can draw a few conclusions about who is - and isn't - in the frame.

Reims boss Will Still is clearly admired by the Sunderland hierarchy and fits the bill perfectly, though at this stage the question is whether he would prepared to leave a side fifth in Ligue 1, with potentially bigger offers on the table if he continues on his current trajectory. Credible reports in Sweden have also said that Sunderland are interested in IFK Värnamo boss Kim Hellberg - who is set to become a free agent. While sources have played down interest in bookies' frontrunner Julien Sable, at least at this stage, that is clearly the profile that Sunderland are pursuing. There will likely be others managing in leagues abroad whose name has not yet become public.

One of the reasons why Sunderland have also been happy to go through their recruitment process is that they feel Mike Dodds is a safe pair of hands to lead the team through the West Brom game, and potentially beyond. Though his previous spell as interim boss ended in two defeats, the club feel he has grown significantly as a coach since then and he has been a prominent part of Mowbray's set up, with a significant role in training, game preparation and tactics.

While an appointment is not thought to be imminent, there is also hope that the process will not drag on too far into the distance.