Former Rangers manager Ally McCoist had emerged as a shock frontrunner for the vacant Sunderland job in recent days.
It appears that it’s not just the majority of Sunderland supporters who are a little unconvinced by the prospect of Ally McCoist taking over at the Championship’s bottom club.
The Northern Echo reports that McCoist, who played for Sunderland between 1981 and 1983, is interested in taking over at the Stadium of Light – though he is no longer the leading candidate with former Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka now favourite for the role.
McCoist, however, isn’t exactly blessed with a great deal of managerial experience. The 55-year-old hasn’t stepped foot in the dugout since leaving Rangers in 2014 when they were in the second division.
And although McCoist helped guide Rangers back up the Scottish football pyramid after their demotion to the fourth tier in 2012, the former Gers star failed to truly convince that he was set to become a top level manager.
Nonetheless, McCoist is understood to be a friend of Sunderland’s chief executive Martin Bain.
Owner Ellis Short, however, will still be the man to green light any decision – and the Northern Echo reports that the Irish-American businessman is rather ‘lukewarm’ about McCoist’s prospects.
Sunderland supporters have criticised countless Short decisions over the last couple of years but the majority may agree with the owner’s uncertainty towards McCoist.
With the Black Cats bottom of the Championship after picking up just one win in 16 league games in 2017/18, hiring an inexperienced manager who has been out of the game for three years would most certainly fall into the risky category.
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