Mccoist in the frame as Black Cats hunt for new manager
Sunderland are still to identify the man they want to take the club forward as they continue their search for a new manager.
Chief executive Martin Bain has held talks with potential candidates in recent days and Ally Mccoist, who worked with Bain at Rangers and also had a two-year spell at Sunderland as a player in the early 1980s, has come under consideration, while the odds on Barnsley’s Paul Heckingbottom returning to the club where he was a trainee have tumbled to evens with some bookmakers.
However, it is understood Bain is still pondering a range of options for an appointment he simply cannot afford to get wrong after David Moyes and Simon Grayson both presided over disastrous spells at the Stadium of Light.
Former Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka has also been linked with the vacancy – although sources close to the Spaniard have distanced him from it.
But sources on Wearside have indicated that no appointment is imminent with the search having entered its third week, and that caretaker manager Robbie Stockdale could still be at the helm for Saturday’s Sky Bet Championship clash with Millwall if there are no significant developments over the next 48 hours.
Grayson was sacked minutes after a 3-3 home draw with Bolton on 31 October, and the club currently sits at the foot of the table with just ten points from 16 games. Sunderland have not won a home league game since they beat Watford 1-0 in the Premier League on 17 December last year and were relegated in May having collected only 24 points.