Despite yesterday reporting that Mark Hughes was the man for the job, BBC Sport have today broken the story that Martin O’Neill is in fact set to be appointed as the new Sunderland boss.
O’Neill has been the odds on bookies favourite since the departure of Steve Bruce, and has been linked with multiple posts since leaving his last club, Aston Villa. The former Celtic manager has a stellar reputation as a manger and is seen by the Sunderland board as the man to pull the club away from the relegation zone, which they currently sit two points above, only managing to win two times this season.
The Sunderland board are keen to install a new manager as soon as possible and regain some semblance of stability at the club, with caretaker manager Eric Black not seen as the man to do this long term.
O’Neill for his part is excited about taking on the challenge at Sunderland, and is willing to abide by the budgetary constraints at the Black Cats and work with players who are already there. As Celtic manager said, O’Neill has a history of being able to ‘lift clubs’ and feels that he is more than ready to get back into the game – a sentiment that O’Neill himself certainly shares. It seems that this will be at Sunderland, and sooner rather than later.
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