Andy Brassell retracts Will Still to Sunderland comments after next head coach claims

Andy Brassell has moved to clarify comments made about Will Still and the Sunderland job.

It had been hinted on TalkSport last night that Will Still was on the brink of becoming Sunderland’s next head coach. However, Brassell has now stated that the comments were tongue-in-cheek.

Still caught the eye of football circles and fans on social media after becoming relatively successful at a young age and admitting to honing some of his skills on the popular video game Football Manager. The 31-year-old recently parted company with French club Reims.

Born in Belgium to English parents, Still played both amateur and semi-professional football before becoming assistant manager of Preston North End's under-14 team and then going on to manage Lierse, Beerschot and Remis. Still was linked with the Sunderland job after the sacking of Tony Mowbray with his name once again cropping with the Black Cats searching for their next head coach.

After the clip of Brassell and Kelly talking on talkSPORT emerged and was reported on, Brassell added: “First and last word on this. As part of actual work on @talkSPORT Sunday night we talked Will Still leaving Reims. Joked (as I live in the north-east) I saw him house hunting on our road. Clearly not true.”

Brassell and Kelly’s words on TalkSport:

Danny Kelly: “Will Still, who we have mentioned a lot on this programme has parted company with Reims...”

Andy Brassell: “Yeah, he has. I can’t confirm or deny the news that a ginger man in his 30s has been house-hunting down my road recently. Not saying where he might end up next. I don’t know.”

Danny Kelly: “For those of you not good enough to do the cryptic crossword in The Times, Andy lives in the North East. There you go. Sunderland. There’s the answer to the crossword.”

Andy Brassell: “Of course! And his brother will be coming with him because he left as well. It was always likely that Will Still would go at the end of the season but he has left a little earlier.”

Danny Kelly: “This is a coup for Sunderland, isn’t it?”

Andy Brassell: “If he comes, it absolutely will be. They have ended this season on a bit of a downer. He is someone who is an incredible motivator in two languages we’ve seen.

“He is someone who has been working very hard on creating job opportunities for himself in the Premier League or the Championship over the last couple of months, making frequent dashes back to London as well.

“He has done very well at Reims on a limited budget and until the last couple of weeks, they were in the mix for European football.”