Nigel Pearson and Kevin Phillips would be ‘fantastic’ appointments for a Sunderland side desperate to bring an end to their League One nightmare, former England international Emile Heskey exclusively tells HITC.
The writing was on the wall for Phil Parkinson as soon as those reports emerged.
The Sun, on 22 November (page 61), claimed that Sunderland had identified Pearson as a potential replacement for the struggling former Bolton boss at the Stadium of Light, with Black Cats hero Phillips also lined up for an assistant coach role on Wearside.
Just days later, Parky was gone, his 13-month spell in the dugout coming to an end amid a miserable run of two wins in nine games.
Sunderland may be enduring a third successive season at League One level, but the fact they are still being linked with a coach like Pearson, who was managing in the Premier League just a few months ago, speaks volumes about the club’s size and stature.
Surely no other third-tier side could even dream of twisting Pearson’s arm.
“Positive,” Heskey says when asked how he would feel if Sunderland hired the former Watford boss.
“When you’re looking at what Nigel Pearson has to offer, and Kevin Phillips, their pedigree and what they have to give…
“Yeah, definitely (it would be a big coup). Having someone like that at the wheel is fantastic, it shows the potential of Sunderland and people still seeing how big Sunderland is as a club that they can still call upon fantastic managers like Nigel Pearson.”
“He’s got the pedigree to do it,” Heskey adds, pointing out that it was Pearson who laid the foundations for Leicester’s remarkable Premier League title triumph in 2015/16.
“Arguably, he will say his team won the Premier League as well. He’s got all the accolades and he understands what it means to be fighting to get out of that league.
“(Sunderland) is in a really bad place. No director of football, no manager, all the departments you need, they’ve got no one in those departments. It’s sad to see such a big club – and I remember playing against Sunderland since such a young age – going where they are and getting bogged down in that fight in League One.”
The Northern Echo reports that Gus Poyet – Sunderland boss from 2013 to 2015 – could be offered a return to Wearside due to his relationship with Juan Sartori.
Paul Cook, a League One winner with Wigan Athletic two years ago, is another name in the frame.
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