While rivals Middlesbrough are potentially preparing for an exciting promotion campaign, Sunderland, who stood by David Moyes, are still without a manager.
While Middlesbrough and Sunderland both endured miserable Premier League campaigns as they were relegated last season, the two clubs took contrasting approaches to the final months of the season.
Boro decided that enough was enough after a poor run with Aitor Karanka, sacking him for Steve Agnew and then, when he failed to keep them up, cutting him from their managerial plans, too.
Sunderland, on the other hand, kept faith with David Moyes to retain their top-flight status, allowed him to stay in the job past the point of their relegation and then finally saw him choose to leave – after the end of the season.
Where Boro now look set to thrive this summer, their North East rivals have not yet even appointed a new manager – suffering a hefty blow as Aberdeen’s Derek McInnes turned down the job on Thursday.
Steve Gibson, on Teesside, was able to quickly move for a new boss, knowing Agnew was not the right fit, and recruited Garry Monk after an impressive season with Leeds United.
Only on Thursday, with the transfer window already open and pre-season on the horizon, did Sunderland get to the nitty-gritty of talks with McInnes, leaving them hopelessly lost when he rejected their advances.
Based on results and the gradually draining morales of both players and supporters, Moyes surely should have been gone long before the end of last season. Sunderland, ahead of a key campaign, are paying the price now.
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