SUNDERLAND will continue to assess their managerial options over the coming days, with club bosses set to whittle down their shortlist as talks with potential candidates take place.

The Black Cats were said to be preparing to hold discussions with Kim Hellberg yesterday, with the 35-year-old - a free agent after leaving IFK Varnamo - having emerged as a contender in the last 36 hours.

But he won't be the only candidate to hold talks with the club, with bosses keen to ensure the process of identifying and selecting Tony Mowbray's successor is as thorough as possible.

Sunderland have tracked potential head coaches of interest over the past 12 months - as was evident when the links with Francesco Farioli emerged at the end of last season. But as well as assessing those who've been identified as potential targets, Sunderland will also closely consider applications, with the vacancy at the Stadium of Light hugely attractive to bosses in the UK and overseas.

While it's become clear in recent days that Kyril Louis-Dreyfus didn't have a successor in mind when Mowbray was sacked, the type of appointment that the Black Cats are expected to make is clear. The Farioli link at the end of last season was a window into the thinking of the club's decision makers. His assistant at Nice, Julien Sable, clearly fits the profile and was still favourite with the bookies yesterday, but it's not clear whether he's a genuine candidate.

Will Still is admired at Sunderland but whether the Black Cats could tempt the highly-rated 31-year-old to Wearside - or afford him - is not clear. Still is being monitored by a number of clubs and is likely to be a candidate for future Premier League jobs, with Steve Cooper at Nottingham Forest and Roy Hodgson at Crystal Palace both under growing pressure.

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While Sunderland don't want the process of appointing a new manager to be long and drawn out - with a flurry of fixtures fast approaching over the busy Christmas period - club chiefs have faith in interim boss Mike Dodds, who will take charge of the side against West Brom on Saturday. He's due to speak to the media for the first time at lunchtime today. It's not clear at this stage whether he'll still be in charge for Tuesday's game against Leeds.

One domestic manager who has been linked since Mowbray's sacking is Steven Schumacher and the Plymouth boss admits he's flattered - though insists he isn't taking any notice of speculation.

He said yesterday: "It has happened before. I tend not to get involved in it, if I'm dead honest. I speak to my agent and say 'don't bother me until you need to' and he doesn't. It doesn't affect me one little bit so, no, I'm not aware of anything.

"It's part and parcel of it, you sort of get used to it, and as I have said before it's a good thing because it shows you are doing something right."

Schumacher says his wife, Victoria, had been "bombarded" with messages since he was linked with the Sunderland vacancy, but his phone hasn't been as busy.

He said: "My mates who live around here who are Argyle fans know better. They text my missus instead and she rings me and says 'what's all this?'"