Simon Jordan believes that the Sunderland job would be an ‘interesting’ one for former Chelsea and Everton manager Frank Lampard with Tony Mowbray biting the bullet this week.
Paying the price for a run of two wins in nine Championship games, Saturday’s 1-1 draw away at Millwall proved to be the final straw for Sunderland owner Kyriel Louis-Dreyfus and sporting director Kristjaan Speakman.
And while The i News believe that the Black Cats chief are likely to look abroad in their pursuit of a new head coach – having considered 30-somethings Francesco Farioli and Matthias Jaissle over the summer – Simon Jordan wonders if Sunderland may be tempted to look closer to home at a man who took Derby County to the brink of promotion back in 2019.
Sunderland sack manager Tony Mowbray
“A club like Sunderland, with all the infrastructure, the 49,000-seater stadium, and a fanatical fanbase, should be in and around the top of the Championship,” Jordan, the one-time Crystal Palace chairman, tells talkSPORT (5 December, 11am).
“If you talk about ‘football people’, someone like Frank Lampard might be under consideration.
“I’m not his biggest admirer. But, if he is such a football man with such motivation and passion, if Frank Lampard wants to do something at a club with the size and stature of Sunderland, with the opportunities to rebuild, that would be an interesting job, wouldn’t it?”
Frank Lampard endured miserable 2023
Lampard’s managerial reputation has taken quite the beating of late, sacked by Everton after The Toffees found themselves stuck in the relegation zone in February before winning only one of 11 games after returning to Chelsea on an interim basis in the spring.
The 45-year-old former England international is keen to get back on the horse, however. Lampard allegedly wanted the Rangers job recently, pipped to the post by Philippe Clement.
The vast potential of Sunderland, and especially a squad chock-full of exciting, homegrown talent, is likely to appeal to a man who helped play a key role in the development of Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Harry Wilson, Fikayo Tomori and co.
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