As the red and white army get prepared for the League 1 playoff against Charlton, many questions remain before the new sports season kicks off.
Which division will the Black Cats be playing in next season? If you take a look at detailed oddsmonkey reviews you can see they can be backed as big favourites to return to the second tier but can they also hang on to their charismatic boss? And which players will still be donning those famous shirts come next term?
First, we start with Jack Ross who has worked wonders given the chaos that has engulfed the club in recent years. He is an astute manager, known for his man-management skills and his ability to be tactically flexible in matches. He’s also helped bring some of the good time back to the Stadium of Light, even if we did lose that heart-breaking penalty shoot-out at Wembley to Portsmouth.
Ross to stay?
Since he first took up the Sunderland hotseat last summer, Ross has been rumoured and linked with clubs far and wide; the vacant West Brom manager’s job, the Scotland national team, amd that’s just to name a few.
According to latest reports, Ross is also attracting the attention of Welsh side Swansea with Graham Potter set to join Brighton following the shock departure of Chris Houghton.
Tabloid the Mirror, as well as the Sunderland Echo,, have reported that Swansea will try to lure QPR assistant John Eustace to the Liberty Stadium, should Ross and Barnsley boss Daniel Stendel fail to be persuaded or become overlooked.
The biggest link for Ross probably comes from West Brom but Ross told the Echo he still has ‘an awful lot’ he wants to achieve at Sunderland and is enjoying his time on Wearside.
He added “I’m trying to be clear-headed about what we’re trying to do [at Sunderland]”, said Ross last month.
“I’ve said time and time again how much I enjoy this job, and also how much I’ve still got to do within it.
“That’s the only thing I’m focused on and there’s still an awful lot of things I want to achieve at Sunderland Football Club.”
Summer clear out?
Depending on what league Sunderland find themselves in next season- expect a big clear out. The vultures will be circling should the Black Cats remain in League one but if promotion can be achieved then surely better-quality players can be bought in.