Breaking: Michael Beale’s probable dismissal will undoubtedly lead to a huge summer for Sunderland. They consented to sign the former Chelsea manager, but…

Sunderland are set for a massive summer after the inevitable sacking of Michael Beale!

63 days. 12 matches. 14 points. Four victories. Six defeats. One Wear-Tyne derby.

Even in numbers, the Michael Beale era at Sunderland is painted in a very sour light.

And nine weeks on from his controversial appointment, he has become the shortest serving Sunderland manager/head coach – one game less than Paulo di Canio’s 13-match spell of the club in 2013.

In truth, it’s been an uninspiring, fragmented and miserable nine weeks for the club: a spell that has, at times, felt like you’re living in a disconcerted reality when you look back to recent times gone by.

Just less than a year ago, it felt like something was continuing to build at this football club. Promotion from League One was backed up by a thrilling first season back in England’s second tier with a superb attractive brand of football.

Fans were riding on a wave of pure optimism, with a quite remarkable end to something of a wonderful season almost concluding in a fairytale ending.

Yet, almost 10 months later, that has all been squashed.

Their identity has seemingly been lost in their inconsistency over recent months (something which can’t exactly been directed towards Beale, though), and their reliance on Jack Clarke, week in, week out, is becoming easier to nullify.

Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images

The Black Cats have been back-tracking for weeks now, and the underwhelming appointment of Beale always felt a risky move, despite any internal advertising surrounding his coaching abilities.

Yet, even from day one, for me, Beale was on a hiding to nothing. The backlash his appointment gained from sections on social media meant that Beale would simply have to hit the ground running on his arrival, and he just didn’t do it.

That though, simply has to lie at the footsteps of Beale.

There had looked to have been triggers of something in the second half against Plymouth that could have proved a catalyst for his reign, but a week on, the calls for his sacking were clear once more.

Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images

Under Beale, the same players that had excelled at the start of the campaign have seemingly lost their identity, and the style of play felt tiring at times for supporters.

In making the team more solid defensively, especially away from home, their attacking creativity and sparks were limited, and the same questions that troubled Tony Mowbray before his departure were also unsolved by the former Rangers boss.

The direction that Beale wanted to take the team still remains quite unclear, and exactly nine weeks into his spell, the hierarchy have decided to pull the plug.

Now, Mike Dodds’ interim charge of the club until the end of the season sets up a mammoth summer ahead.

Within the move for Dodds until this season ends, there seems to be an underlying expectation that a big summer rebuild is on the cards in terms of both players and the head coach in the dugout.

Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The next permanent appointment simply has to be the one, and there is a realisation that next season might have to be the campaign for a true promotion bid.

For now, Dodds will take charge and look to have a similar effect as to the one that he had earlier in the campaign. After Saturday, there is a challenging run of fixtures coming up, and if they truly want to still be in play-off contention come May, they need a healthy points haul to keep them in the race.

The club need a bit of stability; here though is another person that has came and left without making any sort of impact.

Beale’s reign at the club will only be acknowledged with the many negatives associated with the 63 days that he was on Wearside.