Who are the candidates for the next Sunderland manager? Gus Poyet, Paul Cook, Danny Cowley, Nigel Pearson

And speculation as to who the Black Cats will appoint as their next manager has been rife, with several names under consideration.

Here, we take a look at the top four candidates currently with the bookies, who they are, their past experiences and what they could bring to the Stadium of Light.

Danny Cowley – 11/4

Danny Cowley is one of football’s grassroots coaching success stories having started his career with Concord Rangers in the Essex Senior Football League.

Since then, the 42-year-old former semi-professional midfielder has worked his way up the football pyramid, enjoying a stint at Braintree Town before making a name for himself at Lincoln City.

In his first season in charge, he oversaw the club's promotion back to the Football League.

In the same season, Lincoln also became the first non-league club to reach the quarter-final of the FA Cup in over a century, knocking out Championship sides Ipswich Town and Brighton & Hove Albion, followed by Premier League side Burnley.

Cowley – alongside his brother and assistant manager Nicky – guided the club EFL Trophy final against Shrewsbury Town at Wembley Stadium which they won 1-0.

Cowley also took Lincoln up as League One champions, returning the club to the third tier of English football for the first time since 1999.

Following their success, the pair were hired by Championship club Huddersfield Town but was sacked two days after avoiding relegation to the third tier.

Gus Poyet – 11/8

A name familiar to Sunderland fans, former Chelsea and Tottenham midfielder Poyet has enjoyed a rollercoaster managerial career.

The 53-year-old took his first steps into management with Brighton and Hove Albion in 2009, leading the club to the League One title and solidifying the Seagulls as a Championship side during his tenure.

Poyet was then appointed as Black Cats head coach in 2013, replacing firey Italian Paulo Di Canio.

His second game in charge, and first at the Stadium of Light, resulted in a 2-1 win against local rivals Newcastle United.

Poyet then took Sunderland to the League Cup final, with wins over Southampton, Chelsea and Manchester United, before a hard-fought loss to Manchester City at Wembley.

Incredibly, and despite looking dead and buried at the bottom of the Premier League table, Poyet managed to perform a ‘miracle’ dubbed the ‘Great Escape’ by Sunderland fans to keep the cub in the top flight at the end of the 2013-14 campaign.

Poyet was sacked the following season with Sunderland sitting 17th in the table.

Since then, Poyet has managed AEK Athens, Real Betis, Shanghai Shenhua and Bordeaux, never lasting more than 30 games at each.

Paul Cook – 3/1

The ex-Wigan Athletic boss has bags of previous League One experience.

He lead Chesterfield to the League Two title, where they comfortably maintained their League One status in 2014–15, reaching sixth place and the play-offs.

Then, the 53-yer-old steered Sunderland’s League One rivals Portsmouth back into the third-tier as champions of League Two.

Cook also guided Wigan Athletic to the League One title during the 2017-18 season – and on an impressive FA Cup run that claimed three shocks against top-flight opponents West Ham United, Bournemouth and Manchester City.

Cook resigned as Wigan manager earlier this year, following the club's relegation due to a 12-point deduction applied after Wigan went into administration earlier in the month.

Nigel Pearson – 6/1

Here stands another candidate with much managerial experience in the game with links to Sunderland’s North East rivals.

A handy midfielder in his day, Bryan Robson signed Pearson for Middlesbrough in back 1994.

Pearson captained the Teessiders to two promotions and three domestic cup finals, before hanging up his boots in 1998.

Pearson has managed Newcastle United twice as a caretaker and was also in temporary charge at West Brom and England’s under-21 side briefly.

In terms of permanent positions, Pearson has held down jobs at Carlisle United, Southampton, Leicester City (twice), Hull City, Derby County and OH Leuven.

The 57-year-old’s most recent managerial conquest came at Watford last season, where he was controversially dismissed from his duties at Vicarage Road.

Watford were seven points adrift at the bottom of the league when Pearson took charge, and three points above the relegation zone when he was sacked.

The Hornets went on to lose their remaining two games and were relegated.

Pearson, however, is best known for his work at Leicester City, where he won promotion to the second tier as League One champions in 2009.

A stint at Hull City followed before Pearson returned to the King Power Stadium, guiding the Foxes to the Premier League as champions in 2014.

In Leceister’s first season back in the top-flight, Pearson pulled off his own miracle.

Leicester City confirmed their Premier League status following a goalless draw with Sunderland in May 2015, becoming only the third team to escape relegation having been bottom at Christmas, eventually finishing the season in 14th place.

However, Pearson was sacked that summer, with the club stating that "the working relationship between Nigel and the board was no longer viable following a scandal involving his son, a player at the club.

The following season, Leicester won the Premier League title under Claudio Ranieri as 5000/1 outsiders, with many fans and pundits crediting Pearson’s groundwork and talent spotting as an essential factor in the unlikely triumph.