Chris can get Cats back in the hunt

SO far, being an international coach seems to have suited Chris Coleman better than club management – but he has a wonderful opportunity to put that right at Sunderland. It was right for Coleman to leave his job as Wales manager for one simple reason – it was never going to get any better than reaching the Euro 2016 semi-finals, after outplaying a Belgium side stacked with worldclass talent in the last eight.

Over the last six years, the Black Cats have chewed up and spat out eight managers, from Steve Bruce to Martin O’neill, Paolo Di Canio, Gus Poyet, Dick Advocaat, Sam Allardyce, David Moyes and Simon Grayson. If Sunderland have not yet hit rock-bottom, they must have a pretty good view of the bottom of the barrel – and the man who reverses the cycle of decline will go down as a legend on Wearside.

Why shouldn’t Coleman be that man? If he brings his best traits from the Wales job to the Stadium of Light, he will make the players want to play for him, will organise them, and forge a healthy team spirit.

Admittedly, there is no magician like Gareth Bale to pull a result out of the fire.

But if he stops the rot, saves them from relegation this season, and has them moving up the table next term, Sunderland and Coleman could be a match made in heaven.

If he had bided his time, Coleman (above) could have landed a job in the bottom half of the Premier League, but the potential at Sunderland is huge.

Like he said: They have 47,000 fans – it’s just that half of them have stopped coming every week.