“Fans would take him” – Sunderland told to appoint former Premier League manager
Palmer discussed Sunderland’s search for a new manager ahead of the Championship run-in.
Sunderland are on a losing streak with Dodds as interim manager, six consecutive defeats if you combine his record with Beale’s.
Carlton Palmer suggests a young manager should be hired due to the club’s recruitment philosophy.
Palmer recommends Paul Heckingbottom, highlighting his successful tenure at Sheffield United.
With Sunderland having relieved Michael Beale of his managerial duties, the club turned to Mike Dodds to take over on an interim basis.
Unfortunately, Dodds has so far been unable to halt Sunderland’s slide, though, with the Black Cats having lost all of their matches under him since taking over for a second time.
Combining Beale’s final matches and Dodds’, Sunderland have now lost six consecutive Championship fixtures.
This leaves the club well short of the play-off places.
Carlton Palmer: Sunderland need a young manager
Given the run they are currently on, it seems unlikely that Dodds will be considered permanently for the position, which means Sunderland will have a permanent appointment to make in the coming months.
Now, former England international midfielder Carlton Palmer has had his say on who the Black Cats should hire next.
Palmer believes a young head coach would be best due to Sunderland’s recruitment philosophy.
“Sunderland appointed Mike Dodds until the end of the season and gave him the opportunity and hoped that things would have worked out,” Palmer discussed with FLW.
“But things haven’t worked out for him. Sunderland now have six defeats on the trot. They’re not in any danger of getting relegated, so I doubt whether Sunderland will do anything between now and the end of the season, but they also can’t get into the play-offs now. They’re too many points adrift.
“Sunderland will be looking for a new manager and this will be dependent, like I’ve said before, everybody when they’re out of work, they want to be in work, but the situation at Sunderland and the way that they want to work, which is sign players who are relatively inexperienced and signing for cheap, and the model is to get them experience and the manager to bring them on and then sell them for a big fee.
“Managers will be looking at their job and thinking, well, can I realistically do a good job? This shows you the type of job Tony Mowbray did at the football club, and they let him go.
“So I think the ideal appointment for this job would be a young manager who would go along with that.
“A senior manager, for me, would want to bring in experienced players along with the youth and would want to push on like Tony Mowbray did to get them in the play-offs and get them promoted.”
Sunderland should consider Paul Heckingbottom
Not only did Palmer outline that he thought Sunderland should appoint a younger head coach, he went further, explaining who he thinks should get the job.
Palmer thinks former Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom would be well worth considering.
“There’s going to be a lot of managers out there that are available,” Palmer added to his previous comments.
“I think one manager that’s still not picked up any work yet is Paul Heckingbottom.
“I think he did an unreal job at Sheffield United getting them promoted with the team that he had, and they did it at a canter.
“I think he’s one of those managers that I would be looking at who I think can do a good job. He worked with fewer resources, so he doesn’t have to be blessed with great resources and I think the fans would take to him.”
