Phil Smith's Sunderland Q&A: The big managerial questions considered and where club goes from here

It looks set to be a crucial few weeks for the club, with a change in ownership structure also on the horizon.

Phil Smith has been answering questions from readers on all the latest developments.

You can read his answers below...

Who is taking training this week?

Training is being led by Andrew Taylor, who is in temporary charge until a new manager is appointed.

Goalkeeping coach Lee Butler remains at the club and is offering support, as is head of sports science Nick Allamby, who has always had an input on training since his arrival last year.

Is a replacement lined up?

Who will be making the appointment?

Are the new owners set to make the appointment and if so, could they be looking abroad for a candidate?

I’ve brought these questions together as while all a little different, the underlying theme is the same.

When Jack Ross departed, the search for a new manager was led by Neil Fox, Tony Coton and Richard Hill, who conducted the interviews and eventually recommended the appointment of Phil Parkinson to Stewart Donald.

Clearly, the club is in a very different place now.

The recent interviews for the club’s next academy manager (still to be appointed), for example, were held by a panel of Jim Rodwell, Phil Parkinson and Angela Lowes (finance director).

It was Rodwell who informed Parkinson of the decision to change direction on Sunday.

The question of the potential takeover is a crucial one.

A conclusion is believed to be nearing, though we have seen in the past that even in an non-COVID world, the EFL can be notoriously slow in granting approval even when a deal has been agreed.

It is not yet clear who will be making the key footballing decisions if and when a takeover goes through, and whether that is going to have any impact on the current search.

The early indications are that the takeover and the managerial news are connected.

It’s easy to see why this is hugely significant.

If there are new owners or investors on the horizon, then their vision for the club is clearly going to have a significant influence on what comes next.

If it is the current board making the decision, then their view may be very different.

I don’t believe an immediate appointment has been lined up, and expect some interviews to take place this week.

Last time around, it was clear that League One experience was seen as a necessity. That was why the search quickly centred around Parkinson, as well as managers such as Paul Cook and Gareth Ainsworth.

The early indications this time are that the net is being cast wider.

Of course, that doesn’t mean they won’t go for an established manager at this level in the end, but the search does seem to be broader at the moment.

Whether that is due to the influence of the takeover and any new investor remains to be seen.

What are your thoughts on the early names in the frame?

Again, I think it reflects the uncertainty on exactly who is making the appointment.

Once that is clear, it becomes a lot easier to determine what the brief is and who then fits that.

Danny Cowley has admirers and did a superb job at Lincoln City. His brief spell at Huddersfield Town looks less impressive on paper but it is worth remembering just how much they were struggling when he arrived.

We know first-hand how difficult it can be to turn round a side that has been dumped out of the Premier League and started slowly in the Championship. I think he’s a strong candidate, but again, it comes down to who will be making the appointment and what they are looking for.

Gus Poyet is probably the most interesting name on the list for a number of reasons, not least because he has recently been very vocal on being open to a return somewhere along the line.

It ended badly last time around, but the quality of the football at times will be fresh in everyone’s mind.

He knows this league and has succeeded in it, but has a defined style that you could carry with you for a few years.

It would be very interesting to see him work with the current regime, though. He wasn’t shy of voicing his opinions last time around and his recent jobs have suggested that hasn’t changed.

What do you think about Eddie Howe?

If he was interested, I’d cook his meals for the rest of the season.

Sadly, I suspect he’ll be a top-tier manager before the end of the campaign.

What do you want to see in the next manager?

Above all else, I would like to see a plan and a strategy for the club.

A clearly defined vision for how the team is to play, which recruitment and academy management can then feed off. The appointment of a new manager is clearly a vital important decision but is simply one of many that have to be made at the club.

So that’s my biggest hope, that whoever is appointed points to a clear way of doing things further forward.

As to what that is more specifically, I think you’ve got a squad now that has looked very effective when pressing aggressively. I’d be looking for a manager who prioritises that for a couple of reasons. One, it should lead to smoother transition than we had last time around, and more generally I think it fits the mould for the energetic style that Sunderland fans want.

Setting out a vision for how to get more out of Sunderland’s attacking players should be a key task for any candidate being interviewed, and a track record of trusting/improving young players would also be fairly high up my list.

Irrespective of which manager we get do you think this squad is good enough to win automatic promotion?

I think it is, yes.

There are some obvious weaknesses, particularly in the lack of pace through the squad. The lack of a player who can stretch the opposition defence and make the attacking play a little less predictable has been an obvious gap for some time.

On the whole, though, it’s a squad with an experienced spine and some real attacking quality.

The defensive personnel is good and the depth is far greater than a lot of other clubs at the level.

In the current climate and the current division, I don’t think automatic promotion is an unrealistic expectation.

Surely we have got to give Kevin Phillips a chance whether it be the manager’s role or a number 2? He will get the fans back behind us and give us that lift we really need.

Phillips was very strong last time around in putting himself forward for the managerial role, but was not considered because, as I mentioned, League One managerial experience was deemed key.

That did bring Nigel Pearson into consideration, who Phillips is of course closely linked with.

Pearson’s talks with the club (obviously) did not lead anywhere significant, and so you would have to wonder whether anything has changed this time around.

Which, again, brings us back to the conversation that has underpinned this whole discussion.

Is the club moving into an area of significant change behind the scenes, or not? That will absolutely define the managerial search.

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