Sunderland are in ‘advanced talks’ with Roy Keane over their vacant managerial position, MailOnline has revealed.
Keane, 50, is closing in on a sensational return to the Stadium of Light to take up the Sunderland managers’ job once again.
The former Black Cats boss was last in the dugout was back in 2008 when he oversaw exactly 100 games as Sunderland’s manager, winning 42 of his games in charge and earning promotion to the Premier League in 2007.
He went to Ipswich Town after he left the Black Cats. He’d spend another two years with the club but hasn’t held a managerial job since, having instead worked as Martin O’Neill’s no.2 with the Republic of Ireland national team, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.
Keane is best known for his punditry work now, and MailOnline write that he has a ‘lucrative’ TV deal to consider dropping before his potential return to management with Sunderland.
He is set for a second interview this week and Sunderland hope to have a manager in place for their weekend game v AFC Wimbledon in League One – MailOnline say that the pressure is on owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and sporting director Kristjaan Speakman, after back-to-back defeats in the league.
Alex Neil and Grant McCann are also in the frame, but the pair are seen as back-up options should a deal for Keane fall through.
Thoughts?
The Sunderland board were probably expecting the club to have an upturn in results following the sacking of Lee Johnson.
But it’s been quite the opposite, and now the club finds themselves in a precarious position, dropping down the table and without a manager to ease the fall.
They face a trip to Cheltenham Town this evening but a manager is expected to be in place before their weekend clash v AFC Wimbledon – Keane would be a popular appointment, but it’s certainly a risky one given his lack of management experience over the past 10 years.
