What we know about Tony Mowbray's Sunderland future at this stage and what must happen next

Tony Mowbray was reflecting on his young side's achievement in making the play-off semi finals when he was asked if he had enjoyed his first nine months as Sunderland boss.

"Most of it, yeah," was his response.

"Listen, who knows what my future holds, let's wait and see. First and foremost, I'll talk about the team and how proud I am of these young lads who've given everything week in, week out and won plenty of games this year."

Mowbray subsequently confirmed his desire to lead the club next season, and said his comment was a reference to the speculation surrounding his position that had occurred twice in the previous month.

That had been a slightly odd subplot to the otherwise exhilarating closing weeks of the season, in which the understandable focus on Sunderland's promotion ambitions meant that it was never fully addressed.

Mowbray's comments reflect that, and perhaps underline the importance of doing so swiftly.

The starting point came the morning after Sunderland's superb 2-1 win victory over West Brom, one that did so much to transform the end of the campaign into one of the most thrilling in recent memory. Reporter Fabrizio Romano stated that the Black Cats were interesting in hiring former Alanyaspor head coach and student of Roberto De Zerbi, Francesco Farioli.

Farioli is eager to get back into the game this summer and had already been linked with a number of Championship clubs.

Mowbray addressed the claims at his press conference later that week, saying that he understood the need for clubs to undertake proper succession planning, noting that his Championship record and experience with developing young players meant he would likely have been on Sunderland's radar well before his eventual appointment in the aftermath of Alex Neil's sudden departure.

He even pointed to the struggles that Chelsea and Spurs were going through to underline this point.

Mowbray was unflustered but at this stage and while the indications behind the scenes were that the hierarchy were understandably hugely satisfied with his work, there did not appear to have been any significant assurances offered to the head coach himself at that point.

A week later, Mowbray confirmed in his press conference that he had subsequently held a brief conversation with Kristjaan Speakman, who 'massively played down' the rumours. 'Lets see what the summer brings,' Mowbray said in that press conference for neither the first not the last time.

Mowbray would go on to lead Sunderland into the play-offs but the day before the first leg against Luton Town, another report emerged stating that Farioli was one of three names on a shortlist of potential successors, with Matthias Jaissle and Gerhard Struber being the others. On this occasion, club sources quickly signalled that this was not the case.

However, the claim was repeated again by talkSPORT on Wednesday morning, with the radio station stating that Mowbray was 'fighting for his job'.

Mowbray, understandably, said last night that we would not himself seek clarification or reassurances. As far as he is concerned, it has been an excellent campaign from his young squad and he remains under contract for another year. "I'll just get on with it," he said.

Sunderland rely heavily on data and analytics and given the importance they place on succession planning both on the pitch and in the dugout, that they would have a number of coaches whose progress they track is of no great surprise. Nor would it be particularly unusual for the hierarchy to review the campaign at its end, ahead of key decisions being made. It is the public manner of some of the speculation that has turned it into an issue at the end of the campaign, and made it an issue that requires urgent attention in the days ahead.

Mowbray's first campaign on Wearside has been a resounding success, not just because of the results or even because of the style of play, but because of his integrity and the way he has connected with Sunderland supporters.

It has turned what potentially could have been a hugely destabilising period into a season that will remembered with huge fondness. A swift and clear resolution is crucial to maintaining the club's positive momentum, and most importantly it is owed to Mowbray for the exceptional qualities he has shown in leading the club since the day he arrived.