Sunderland confirm plans and timeframe for appointing Michael Beale successor

There won't be a new permanent head coach appointed at Sunderland until the summer, the club have confirmed.

Sunderland have confirmed that Mike Dodds will take ‘interim’ charge until the end of the season.

It will be Dodds’ third spell in caretaker charge, the first coming in early 2022, which was a bit of a disaster, and the second coming directly before Beale was appointed.

His caretaker spell this season was a successful one, with him masterminding home wins against West Brom and Leeds before losing his final game against Bristol City.

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What has been made clear, though, is that Sunderland are in no rush to appoint a successor to Beale immediately.

The belief is that it will be easier to appoint a quality successor in the summer when more head coaches are prepared to move.

A club statement read: “Sunderland AFC has appointed Mike Dodds as the club’s interim Head Coach.

“Dodds will lead the first team until the end of the 2023-24 season and replace Michael Beale, who departs the Stadium of Light with immediate effect.”

Sunderland will also want to take some time to reflect on how they could get the Beale appointment so wrong.

The club were bullish that Beale was the right man, despite angry protestations from supporters, and his sacking after just 12 matches represents a humbling climbdown.

“We are disappointed that Michael is leaving Sunderland AFC,” sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said.

“Our desire is to improve and unfortunately that hasn’t been evident, as such we take full accountability and feel that acting decisively is in the best interests of the club.

“This has been a difficult few months for Michael, who leaves with our best wishes for the future.

“Our focus is now on the players and supporting Mike Dodds in the remaining games to ensure we achieve the highest possible league finish.

“We will be updating our supporters further as and when significant developments are made.”

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