Revealed! Sunderland fan verdict on whether they back Phil Parkinson to win promotion - and his future

Six out of 10 Sunderland fans do not have faith in Phil Parkinson leading the club to promotion this season IF the 2019-20 campaign does restart.
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But a similar number that responded to our Big SAFC Survey believe he would deserve another crack at the job next season given how disrupted this campaign has been.

We asked fans for their views on a range of topics as part of our survey and today we can reveal the latest installment.

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The focus turns to Phil Parkinson, who replaced Jack Ross in October.

Phil Parkinson.Phil Parkinson.
Phil Parkinson.

A desperately poor start saw the Black Cats slip to their lowest ever league position and fan unrest but since Christmas, Parkinson turned the tide and got Sunderland back into a promotion-chasing position.

The form dipped, however, in the weeks preceding the suspension of all football with Sunderland going four games without a win - two draws and two defeats including the 2-0 loss to Bristol Rovers last time out.

With Sunderland now 7th in League One and having slipped out of the play-off places, we asked fans whether they had faith in Parkinson to lead the club to promotion if the season resumes.

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Of the 1,700 that responded, 61.4% voted no, with 38.6% backing the manager to win promotion.

We also asked whether Parkinson should remain in charge if the club didn’t get back to the Championship at the second attempt.

A majority of fans, 63.9%, voted yes he would deserve another go given how disrupted this season has been, with 36.1% voting he would have to go as he was brought in to win promotion.

Asked to rate his performance since replacing Ross, 14.5% were pleased with Parkinson, a majority of 55.1% satisfied and 30.3% disappointed with how it has gone.

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We also asked fans what they felt were his biggest strength and his biggest weakness, with mixed results from the Sunderland fanbase.

A majority of 33% felt his man-management skills were his biggest strength but fans were clear on the areas they wanted to see improvements - use of subs and tactics.

A total of 37% of fans felt tactics were Parkinson’s biggest weakness, with his use of subs winning 34% of the vote.

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