SUNDERLAND have begun the process of appointing a new manager at the club following the closure of the January transfer window.

The Black Cats relieved Lee Johnson of his head coach duties late on Sunday evening following their humiliating 6-0 defeat at the hands of Bolton Wanderers.

The following day, the club prioritised last minute transfer business with a day of incomings and outgoings at the Stadium of Light on deadline day. Jermain Defoe and Jay Matete arrived on permanent deals in the final hours of the day while Tom Flanagan and Aiden O’Brien sealed switches to Shrewsbury Town and Portsmouth respectively.

Now that the window has reached it’s conclusion, the club are now concentrating it’s efforts on the search for a new man at the helm starting from Tuesday morning according to the club’s owner Kyril Louis Dreyfus.

The 24-year-old billionaire made the decision to axe Johnson after 14 months in charge at the club. The head coach had made sweeping change over the summer bringing in a host of new names and implementing a new playing style that was easy on the eye.

The club started the season in tremendous form topping the table. However, he leaves them in third place and facing an anxious wait on the results of teams around them.

The 6-0 defeat to Bolton added to a series of hammerings this season for the Black Cats. While the decision was made after the loss at the weekend, the owner admits it wasn’t the sole reason.

Dreyfus told TalkSport: “It was obviously a tough decision. I was a decision that wasn’t totally based on Saturday’s result but an accumulation of a few different things.

“We obviously have no time to reflect for too long. We need to get ready for the remaining 17 games and that is the focus right now.”

The Northern Echo:

A number of names have been linked with the current vacancy, most of which include out of work managers. Grant McCann, who was sacked by Championship side Hull City earlier in the season, is the clear frontrunner amongst the bookmakers for the job.

Former Preston North End manager Alex Neil is in the running. The Scotsman has been watching football as much as he can in order to seamlessly go into another job. He was recently spotted watching Hartlepool United’s Papa John’s Trophy win over Charlton Athletic.

It’s been reported by the BBC that former Celtic manager Neil Lennon is interested in taking the position with the understanding that he has been a long time admirer and would be able to handle the pressure working at a big club with ambitious expectations.

Meanwhile, Duncan Ferguson, who was recently interviewed for the vacant manager’s position at Everton, is reported to be interested in the role with the former striker keen to go into management.

After a busy day of comings and goings, the owner says they are now concentrating their efforts on appointing a new man at the helm and they have already had plenty of people interested in the job.

Dreyfus added: “Yesterday was the last day of the transfer window so we prioritised the last few signings we’ve made but the process has definitely started earlier this morning.

“We’ll give it the appropriate time it takes to find the appropriate candidate.

“What we are doing is that we are definitely working on it and speaking to many people. We’ve had huge interest from all over the world. Every country with a lot of managers so we were overwhelmed to be honest. But we will make sure we do the process diligently to find the right person.”

The club are yet to confirm who will be taking charge of the team on an interim basis while the search for a successor is conducted. Subsequently, pre-match media duties are yet to be delegated ahead of this weekend’s game against Doncaster Rovers in League One.

The game could see Defoe make his return to the field at the Stadium of Light after signing a contract until the end of the season. The 39-year-old returns to Wearside nearly five years from his initial first spell where he scored 33 goals in 74 appearances.