SUNDERLAND VACANCY: The post-mortem began in earnest at Sunderland yesterday after the sacking of Peter Reid and, unsurprisingly, his assistant Niall Quinn led the self-flagellation.
"There's a lot of sadness about and, yes, there's guilt too, because the players know they've let him down," said Quinn, who will be caretaker until a new manager is found. "But once you're out on the training pitch, that helps, and it's important we pick ourselves up over the next few days."
Quinn was eager to praise the achievements of Reid. "Peter took a club which looked certain to drop into the old Third Division - and he got it into the Premiership for four of his seasons at the club," said Quinn. "Now, Sunderland Football Club, with its great stadium and its great crowds is the envy of many other clubs and Peter Reid has been a massive part of making all that happen. A lot of things will be said and written but I think people will eventually realise what a great job he did at Sunderland."
On a day when the comings and goings at Sunderland's training ground featured Adrian Heath, Reid's sacked assistant, and a steady stream of sheepish looking players, there was no new manager or backroom staff moving in.
Instead there was a vacuum and into it has appeared the name of almost every manager under the sun. Sunderland, it is said, have cooled on David O'Leary. George Graham distanced himself from the job, not least by flying to Dubai. Gary Megson was mentioned again and for the first time so was Ipswich Town's manager George Burley, a former Sunderland player.
John Gregory continues to be linked with the vacancy, and last night Derby County's executive director Bryan Richardson made encouraging noises. "I doubt he would find it hard to make the move to Sunderland," said Richardson. "We obviously feel that John is one of those managers who certainly wants to go back to the Premier League. I don't think that under those circumstances we would want to stand in his way."
Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy failed to rule out listening to an offer of employment but none has been forthcoming. McCarthy would have the advantage of being able to free himself via a clause in his contract with the FAI, and would appear to be well suited to Sunderland.
The assumption remains that the Sunderland chairman Bob Murray has a replacement for Reid lined up and that the clearing of the the backroom was part of this.
However, as of yesterday there were no new arrivals and Murray is aware that if he is seeking a manager in employment in England he is bound by the chairmen's agreement to approach his counterpart at the club first. Such things take time.
Guardian Service
