Jack can turn Sunderland around...just like he did at St Mirren
Club legend Mendes tips Ross to shine
Jack Ross is a certainty to be a success at Sunderland having already proven he can work wonders, according to former St Mirren favourite Junior Mendes.
The St Mirren manager yesterday completed a money-spinning switch to the Tyne and Wear outfit following weeks of speculation surrounding his future.
The 43-year-old, who led the Buddies to safety in his first season before the Championship title this year, will have no time to rest on his laurels as he takes over a Black Cats side that has just suffered back-to-back relegations to League One having played in the Premier League just two years ago.
Ross is set to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Sam Allardyce, David Moyes and Dick Advocaat in taking the reins at the Stadium of Light club as he bids to turn their fortunes around following years in the doldrums.
Sunderland’s 49,000 capacity stadium is a far cry from leading the Buddies to the likes of Brechin City’s idealic Glebe Park and playing in front of 5,500 at St Mirren Park.
However, former Saints striker Mendes, who plied the majority of his career in England’s League One with sides such as Huddersfield Town and Notts County, insists Ross will take the step up all in his stride following the wonders he has worked at St Mirren.
“It is a massive job but it comes as no surprise to me whatsoever to see Jack get a job the size of Sunderland”, he told Express Sport.
“But Sunderland will have done their homework on Jack and see that it is pretty much a mirror image of what he walked into at St Mirren.
“He is going to a club that in all honesty hit rock bottom last season and are needing to be built back up. That is pretty much the exact same situation that he had at St Mirren the season before last but he has already proven that he is the perfect man to lead a club through that.
“The way that he has handled St Mirren, first to avoid relegation then winning the league this year, has been nothing short of remarkable and it was only a matter of time before some bigger sides came calling.
“He had already attracted interest over the course of last season, and he was in the running for the Ipswich job by all accounts as well, so I suppose it comes as no surprise to the supporters that he has been snapped up.
“He can go in there with his head held high and full of confidence. The work that he has done at St Mirren has been nothing short of amazing.
“It gives him a platform to showcase exactly what he has to offer the world. The exposure he will have working for a club like Sunderland is massive. They have a fantasic fanbase and if he can turn their fortunes around then who knows where he could end up next.
“One good season down south could see him step up again, or if he takes Sunderland back into the Championshp then he could have a crack at taking them into the Premiership.”
Ross beat off competition from Shrewsbury Town manager Paul Hurst and former Portsmouth boss Michael Appleton to land the gig with Sunderland having previously been linked with the vacant hotseat at English Championship side Ipswich Town.
The job at Portman Road may have appealed to Ross, but Mendes believes that the opportunity at Sunderland allows him to put his own mark on the club that may have swayed Ross in his decision to leave for pastures new.
New Black Cats owner Stewart Donald only completed his £40m takeover of the club on Monday as he heralded a new era.
Mendes said: “They now have a new owner, Jack will be the new manager, and there will be a real freshness to the club as they enter what the fans will hope to be a new era for them following some hard times.
“That can be a good thing or a bad thing, but everyone has got to have a good feeling about Jack coming into the club. He is a new man, a modern manager who clearly has a method that works so