Derek McInnes taking Rangers job would exacerbate Sunderland’s frustrations

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Sunderland were unable to tempt Derek McInnes away from Aberdeen in the summer – has The Black Cats job become a poison chalice?

Who is to say Sunderland would be performing any better right now if they had managed to appoint Derek McInnes rather than Simon Grayson in the summer?

If the Black Cats thought they were struggling last season in the Premier League, their disastrous start to their first Championship campaign in ten years means they are in a fully-fledged crisis. Sunderland are second from bottom in the table, have won one in 13 league games, are riddled with debt, underperforming players and an owner who is desperate to sell.

Grayson, as a consequence, cannot truly be blamed for the club’s ongoing malaise. Though Sunderland supporters can still be forgiven for wondering whether things would have been different had McInnes, their first choice to replace David Moyes before the start of the season, had not decided to stay with Aberdeen.

The Guardian reported in July that McInnes, who has led The Dons to three straight second placed finishes in Scotland’s top tier, had been granted permission to speak with Sunderland but eventually turned down the vacant managerial role on Wearside.

Just three months later, however, the 45-year-old is once again a man in demand. The Daily Record report that Scottish giants Rangers have identified McInnes as their primary candidate to replace the now dismissed Pedro Caixinha.

McInnes is one of the brightest young managers in Britain and has an excellent recent track record in the Scottish top flight. It’s clear, then, why Rangers would place him ahead of the likes of Alex McLeish and David Moyes.

Though if McInnes does indeed swap Aberdeen for Rangers just months after turning down the prospect of moving to Wearside, Sunderland may be left with a harsh realisation of just how unattractive their club has become.

Until Sunderland solve the various problems off the pitch that makes it nigh-on impossible for managers to succeed, they will continue to be seen as a poison chalice.