Sunderland Echo

Ross’ successor must inspire & get Cats moving in the right direction

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Now the dust is settling following Jack Ross’ dismissal, and we await his successor, we can only hope the new appointmen­t turns out to be an inspired choice who leads Sunderland to glory come May.

Everybody must come together now, everyone has their part to play, and whether you agree with the sacking or not, the cub will always come first over any individual.

I liked Jack Ross, he was clearly a man of dignity and integrity who came in at an incredibly difficult time.

He stabilised the club and was so near to going up at first attempt.

This season, however, we just haven’t got going.

There have been too many draws again, but worryingly some heavy defeats that didn’t happen last year.

Stewart Donald has been decisive and by making the change early, the new manager can’t complain that he hasn’t got the time to turn it round.

We’re not too far away from the top two, but the current momentum is going the wrong way.

That’s why Jack Ross is history and what his successor has to quickly change.

Was Ross harshly sacked? We’ll only know in May.

If Sunderland go up it was the right decision, if we’re still stuck in League One he can claim he wasn’t given the time to finish the job.

Ross has defended his record at Sunderland and it’s certainly not a bad one, but it’s in League One.

If he had that record in the Premier League, yes, he’d be one of the best Sunderland managers ever.

However, finishing fifth in this league isn’t cause for celebratio­n, it’s the worst finish in the clubs history and that’s the point of everything, it’s all about the division we’re in.

Having a not bad record in League One isn’t going to satisfy any Sunderland fan.

Jack also has two Wembley appearance­s in one season and not many can say that.

One was more a giant party for the fans, whereas the other meant absolutely everything for the future of the club.

Sunderland failed in both and that’s how I see the Jack Ross era.

It could have been brilliant, it was so nearly brilliant, so agonisingl­y close yet so far, ending in frustratio­n and disappoint­ment, like so many Sunderland managers before him.

*The Sunderland Echo has launched a new SAFC weekly podcast call The Roar!

Every Thursday our team of SAFC writers - Phil Smith, Richard Mennear, Mark Donnelly and James Copley - discuss the big talking points of the week, whether it be takeover, transfer or tactics-related - we discuss it all!

With Sunderland again battling for automatic promotion from League One, we also answer fan questions and read out the best and funniest reader anecdotes as fans share their memories of following the Lads home and away over the years.

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 ??  ?? Former Sunderland manager Jack Ross.
Former Sunderland manager Jack Ross.
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