A nine-year spell at England’s premier competition came to an end last season when Sunderland were finally relegated last year. The club probably survived more relegation wars in the last ten years than the number of goals they scored last season. However, it was doom spelt all along for the Black Cats last season and after finishing rock bottom, they moved down to the Championship.
Things have not gone well for the Black Cats well this season either. Sunderland have just won one of their 15 league matches this season and with only 10 points on the board, they stand in the relegation zone. The club are 22nd in the Championship and have not registered a home win since last December.
After failing to guide an aimless Sunderland side to safety last season, Moyes resigned as the manager of the club in May this year. Simon Grayson replaced the Scot and has now been sacked after only eighteen games in charge.
It is a sad state of affairs for the club’s board which now has to search for a ninth manager in a time span of six years. Martin Bain, the Chief executive of Sunderland and the former Rangers man has shortlisted a group of candidates along with his board. Of the many names involved, one that has cropped up interest is the name of Rangers legend Ally mcCoist.
The ex-Rangers player has a very interesting history with both clubs. After initially playing for Sunderland, McCoist made his dream move to the Gers in 1983. He went onto play for the club till 1998, a spell in which he became the club’s top scorer. In his 15-year stay, he went on to score 355 goals for them and became a fan-favourite.
He later returned to Rangers to manage at the Ibrox but the spell proved to be a short one and McCoist is now free since his departure from the Gers three years ago. It will be interesting to see if Bain’s influence does end up bringing the Rangers legend to the Stadium of Light.
Amidst the speculation regarding the Sunderland job, McCoist however, has clearly not lost any love for his former side Rangers and when asked if he would seek a reunion with the Gers if given the opportunity, he replied, “You never know. It’s the club I’ve loved since I was a very small boy.”
“I was very fortunate enough to play at the club for 15 years and it was the greatest privilege of my life to manage the club.”
“So I’m not going to sit here and say no – because it’s a football club I’ve always loved and will continue to love.”
The Black Cats currently have Billy McKinlay and Robbie Stockdale as joint caretaker managers.
