Sunderland legends pay tribute to Charlie Hurley, ex-Chelsea star reveals Sunderland manager talks

A number of Sunderland icons, including former striker and chairman Niall Quinn, have paid tribute to Black Cats legend Charlie Hurley who died this week at the age of 87.

Hurley, one of ten players to make over 400 appearances for the club, is regarded as one of Sunderland’s best ever footballers, he played for the team between 1957 and 1969 and was voted by fans as their player of the century in a 1979 poll. The centre back, nicknamed ‘King’ Hurley by fans, also won 40 caps for the Republic of Ireland and is described by Quinn as an ‘inspiration’ to Irish footballers.

In a touching tribute, Quinn said: “He was a great man, it was a pleasure to meet him and be in his company. In an Irish context, he was truly inspirational footballer and a rock at the heart of the defence. He was courageous, brave, tough but fair. I’m told he would go through you with a dose of salt but he would pick you up and ask if you were OK afterwards. That passed on to Sunderland and there it became even bigger because he is a complete icon - and I say is because he will continue to be.”

Current interim head coach Mike Dodds added: “From my perspective, there are no words I can find to explain how important he was to this football club.

“You look at the general outpouring of love for him today and I think that speaks volumes. From myself, the staff and and the players here - we send our thoughts out to his family and friends.”

Former Chelsea and Aston Villa man admits that he was a contender for the Sunderland job

Former Chelsea and England captain John Terry has revealed that he was one of the main contenders for the Sunderland job after Lee Johnson’s sacking in January 2022.

The five-time Premier League and FA Cup winner retired from football in 2018. Since then he has had two spells as assistant manager to Dean Smith at Aston Villa and Leicester, but is yet to take his first step into senior management.

Speaking on the Up Front with Simon Jordan podcast, he reflected on what he described as a really good interview. He said: “ I had a really, really good interview with Sunderland. They’d just sacked Lee Johnson. They were sitting third in League One. I’d spent two weeks looking at games, looking at the team, the players, knew everyone.

“I had a really good meeting, came away thinking thats mine. I got on really well with the sporting director (Kristjaan Speakman) and all of that. I got the message ‘it went really well, just a little bit inexperienced.’ It was the same with another one, just no experience.

“To be honest I didn’t really want to go as low as League One but I promise you Sunderland was getting up that year. That’s the one I feel like got away that would have gave me a promotion straight away and I’m on my way after that.”

Terry is keen to get into management and has also previously claimed that he held discussions over the Newcastle job before Eddie Howe’s arrival. However, he claims at the moment he is getting few phone calls from owners.

He added: “Now I’m kind of not even getting phone calls within that to go and interview with teams, with owners. Am I looking? A little bit, I’m not throwing myself out there. I’m a little bit like, if someone wants me I think they should come to me a little bit.”