Reims coach Will Still appears to have played down those Sunderland links despite reportedly holding talks with the Championship club in recent days.
The chances of Sunderland getting a new manager through the door in time for this weekend’s trip to Bristol City look slim, to say the least, with progress proving to be somewhat slower than Kyril Louis-Dreyfus may have imagined.
Talks with 35-year-old former IFK Varnamo coach Kim Hellberg appear to have come to an end. Hellberg is expected to take over at Swedish outfit Hammarby instead.
Kieran McKenna is not going to walk away from Ipswich Town any time soon after guiding the Tractor Boys to the top of the Championship – albeit only for 24 hours – either.
And Will Still was keen to avoid pouring fuel on the fire when asked about the vacant Black Cats post by France 3.
Wil Still responds to Sunderland links
“You shouldn’t believe everything you read in the press,” the youngest coach in Europe’s top five leagues said rather cryptically.
Sunderland, according to RMC Sport, held discussions with 31-year-old Still in London recently, much to the annoyance of the Reims bosses. The Ligue 1 outfit took a punt on the Belgian-born Still when hiring him in October of last year, and have been rewarded for their faith with an ‘incredible‘ 14 month spell.
Reims are currently only two points off the European places, while Still’s penchant for coaxing the very best out of exciting young talent will appeal to a Sunderland side who beat Leeds United in midweek thanks to a winner from 17-year-old Jobe Bellingham.
Hellberg, just four years Still’s senior, has enjoyed a fantastic year himself, guiding Varnamo to their best-ever finish of fifth in Sweden’s top flight.
Kim Hellberg talks come to an end
“I was probably the odds-on favourite in Sunderland for a while,” Hellberg tells Fotbolskanalen. “That’s how this industry works. There is often some kind of truth in most things that are written. But the honest answer is that I haven’t signed anything.
“Sunderland has come across my name, and there has been contact and there have been meetings. I don’t know how close (I was to getting the job). But there have been meetings. It has been interesting and fun to have been part of that process.”
“It is a fantastically big club with good people. Today, it feels like it will be someone else who coaches that club. But it was a great experience to have been part of the process. It has been a learning process.”
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