Sunderland have sacked Simon Grayson after only 1 win in 15 matches. The Black Cats are bottom of the league and find themselves searching for a manager again. Here are 5 early candidates-
- Kevin Phillips– Scored 113 goals in 208 games for Sunderland as a player and he is the early favourite. Since retiring in 2014, he has worked as a coach at Leicester City and Derby County.
- Aitor Karanka– The Spaniard seems to be linked with every job that emerges in the Championship. He will be in the frame for the Sunderland job but it will be hard to persuade him. He apparently recently turned down the Birmingham City job. He has been out of work since being sacked by Middlesbrough last season.
- Paul Lambert- The former Colchester United, Norwich City, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers and Wolves manager may be considered by the Black Cats. He is an experienced manager who worked wonders at Norwich City.
- Peter Reid– He managed Sunderland for 7 years from 1995-2002. Their former manager is being linked with a return, however how likely this is to happen is yet to be seen. The 61 year-old’s last managerial job was Mumbai City in 2014. He has also managed Manchester City, England U21s, Leeds United, Coventry City, Thailand and Plymouth Argyle.
- Ryan Giggs– Perhaps considered an outsider but the Manchester United legend is still looking for a manager’s job and is usually linked with an open job in the Championship. It is just a case of who is going to gamble on the 43 year-old. His only previous managerial experience was 4 games in charge of Manchester United in 2014.
