Sunderland stance on permanent Mike Dodds appointment now emerges

After Michael Beale departed Sunderland on Monday, Mike Dodds was named interim manager.

This will be Dodds’ third stay as Sunderland’s interim manager, and it will also be his longest with the team.

Following Tony Mowbray’s dismissal, Dodds managed the Black Cats for three games; they won two, against Leeds United and West Brom, and lost the third, against Bristol City.

Following that loss, Beale took over, with Dodds continuing on as an assistant.

However, following a tumultuous 12-game run at the Stadium of Light, Dodds returns until the summer, and Beale leaves.

Mike Dodds may not be Sunderland’s man, but he has “potential.”
Dodds is a highly respected coach who is reportedly well-liked at Sunderland behind closed doors.

According to Michael Graham, the board and owners of Sunderland view Dodds as having “head coach potential,” but they would like a leader with “more substance.”

Dodds was only eighteen when he obtained his UEFA B License.

Before coming to Wearside in 2021 as head of individual player development, he worked with Birmingham City, where he assisted in the development of players including Jude Bellingham.

Dodds has a fantastic opportunity to dispel skeptics.
Recruiting Dodds in the summer would still be risky for Sunderland, even if he performs well in the last few weeks of the season.

It is evident that he does not have the experience of a no. 1. Dodds has now worked under multiple Sunderland coaches, although he has never truly spent a significant amount of time in the dugout by himself.

He will understand that now, and if he performs well, he will be able to pursue his options as a head coach without any difficulty.

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However, accepting the position at Sunderland as his first seems like a major step, and it appears that the owners of Sunderland would prefer someone with a little more experience than anything else.

However, Dodds is still valuable to the team and will undoubtedly be retained to work under the new manager. If that manager has a brief term again and Dodds performs well in these final 13 games, he may be taken into consideration at that point.

This weekend, Sunderland will play Swansea City in the Championship.

A victory would put the Black Cats back in the running for the top six and provide Dodds and the players with the motivation they need to finish the season in the play-off spots.

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