Next Sunderland Manager Odds: New Names Challenge Favourite Lampard

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Warren Barner

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Warren is an experienced sports and betting journalist who has written for Ladbrokes, The Independent, BetStars, sportinglife.com and FOXSoccer amongst others during spells with the Press Association/PA Media Group and Sky Sports. He writes mainly on football, golf, tennis and light entertainment.

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Last Updated: 
Jun 17, 2024

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Sunderland’s prolonged search for a new manager continues and the odds on potential candidates are constantly shifting on the best betting sites.

The Black Cats have been without a permanent manager since Michael Beale was sacked in February, and four months later they are no nearer to finding a replacement.

Beale was handed a two-and-a-half-year-contract in the week before Christmas, but oversaw just four victories during a 12-game spell.

Mike Dodds was appointed interim manager for a third time, but he was unable to stop the rot as Sunderland finished 16th in the table, just six points clear of the relegation zone.

So who will be picking the Sunderland team next season? We look at some of the candidates leading the way to be the Black Cats’ next permanent manager.

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Lampard Leads Black Cats List

Frank Lampard was once 25/1 to fill the vacancy at the Stadium of Light, but his odds have since been slashed by football betting sites.

The Chelsea and England legend replaced Liam Rosenior as the new favourite, but his odds have drifted slightly from 2/1 to 3/1 following a report that club sources said he was not under consideration for the role.

Lampard has managed in the Championship before, leading Derby to the play-off final in 2019, when they lost to Aston Villa. 

The challenge of taking Sunderland back to the top flight could be just what Lampard is looking for, but the board may have other ideas.

Le Bris Challenges Lampard

Regis Le Bris has emerged from nowhere to become the second favourite at 4/1 with new betting sites to fill the Sunderland vacancy.

Le Bris guided Lorient to a top-half finish in Ligue 1 after replacing Christophe Pellissier two years ago, but speculation is rife he is close to the sack following the club’s relegation.

The former Rennes midfielder had been linked with Leeds last summer, but that job went to Daniel Farke.

Digard Enters The Running 

Didier Digard is another new entry on the list of potential candidates to replace Beale.

Digard has experience of playing in the Premier League and Championship during a largely unsuccessful 18-month spell at Middlesbrough between 2008-2010, but a three-month injury lay-off saw him join Nice on loan before making his move permanent.

Upon his retirement from playing, the former defensive midfielder returned to Nice as their B coach and even had a spell as caretaker manager when Lucien Favre was sacked in January last year.

Digard won 12 and drew eight of his 25 games in charge but returned to reserves duty when Francesco Farioli was appointed head coach.

Apart from that interim spell with Nice, Digard has no experience of coaching a club on a permanent basis and would represent a big risk should the Black Cats decide to take the option.

That said, Digard is now 6/1 with BetVictor, so he is certainly in the picture.

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QPR Boss Cifuentes A Leading Candidate

Marti Cifuentes proved to be QPR’s saviour when he joined the club from Swedish club Hammarby in October last year.

The west Londoners were second from bottom in the Championship table and six points from safety when he took over from previous boss Gareth Ainsworth.

However, the Spaniard won five and drew five of his 16 games in charge as the Rs finished the season in 18th spot, six points clear of the drop zone.

Cifuentes seems to be a man in demand this summer, but the Black Cats would have to pay a hefty compensation fee if they wanted to bring him to the Stadium of Light for which he is priced at 6/1 on some betting apps.

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Rene And Sunderland: The Perfect Maric?

Another name that continues to be linked with a number of managerial vacancies this summer is Rene Maric, whose odds have been halved from 12/1 to 6/1.

The Austrian was reportedly linked with the Black Cats in January because of his ability to improve players, but ultimately lost out to Beale.

Maric’s CV includes assistant manager roles at Red Bull Salzburg, Borussia Monchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund and Leeds United.

He is currently in charge of Bayern Munich’s U19s and it won’t be too long before he gets offered his first head coach role. 

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Keane And Challinor In The Frame

Robbie Keane has also entered the picture after a successful season with Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv.

The former Tottenham and Republic of Ireland striker joined the club on a two-year contract in June last year and went on to win the league and the Toto Cup in his first managerial role.

Maccabi also reached the last 16 of the Europa Conference League, but Keane made the “difficult” decision to leave the club at the end of the season.

The ex-Wolves and Liverpool attacker also had assistant managerial roles with the Republic of Ireland and Middlesbrough, before assisting Sam Allardyce at his former club Leeds at the end of the doomed 2022-23 campaign.

Keane is looking for work following the end of his controversial spell in the Middle East and looks an interesting prospect at 8/1.

Former Tranmere and Bury defender Dave Challinor guided Stockport to promotion from the National League in 2022 and then promotion from League Two last season.

He previously got Hartlepool United out of the National League in 2021, boasting an impressive 53.4% win rate in 721 games as a manager.

Whether he has the credentials to manage in the Championship and potentially take a team into the Premier League remains to be seen. His odds have gone from 8/1 to 16/1 and back to 8/1, so he is currently one of the leading candidates.

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Rosenior Loses Favourite Tag

Former Hull City manager Liam Rosenior was the 6/4 favourite a few weeks ago to take over at the Stadium of Light, but the emergence of Lampard ensured his odds drifted to 10/1.

Despite just missing out on the Championship play-offs, Rosenior was surprisingly sacked by Tigers owner Acun Ilicali over “a difference of opinion on the team’s style of football”.

Unsurprisingly, Rosenior has been linked with a number of teams of a similar calibre to his former employers.

It was Rosenior’s first full-time managerial role – after an interim spell at Derby County – and he will certainly be a name that is talked about among the Sunderland hierarchy when discussing the vacancy.

If you fancy backing Rosenior to be the next Black Cats boss, then make sure to shop around our recommended betting sites for the best free sports bet.

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Heckingbottom Still In The Picture

Paul Heckingbottom’s odds on landing the Sunderland job have been like a yo-yo over the last couple of months and he is once again back in the frame.

He led the way in April, then drifted to 25/1 a fortnight ago and now his price stands at 14/1.

Heckingbottom has been out of work since being sacked by Sheffield United earlier in the season. After a poor start to the campaign, he was relieved of his duties following a 5-0 defeat by relegation rivals Burnley in December.

While he might not have the greatest record in the top flight, Heckingbottom has a promotion to the Premier League on his CV, which should carry some clout with clubs looking for a successful route out of the Championship. 

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Last Updated: 
Jun 17, 2024