Sunderland reportedly wanted Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes in 2017.
The former Celtic and West Ham United striker, though, has suggested that McInnes would have been sacked by the English club.
According to a report in The Guardian in June 2017, McInnes turned down the chance to take charge of Sunderland.
It was reported at the time that the former Rangers and Scotland international midfielder held talks with the Black Cats following the departure of David Moyes from the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland had just been relegated from the Premier League and were preparing for life in the Championship at the time.
The Black Cats were relegated from the second tier of English football at the end of last season, and now under manager Jack Ross, they are aiming to clinch automatic promotion from League One.
McAvennie said about McInnes on Open Goal: “He would have done well at Sunderland, same as Jack’s doing. At the time, it was under a different ownership, so he would have been sacked probably.”
Successful at Aberdeen
McInnes has been in charge of Aberdeen since 2013 and has been a huge success at the Scottish club.
Aberdeen may not have won the Scottish Premiership title, but they are very competitive and regularly fight of the second place in the league table.
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