Sunderland sacked Michael Beale last month and have been without a permanent manager since, with Mike Dodds placed in interim charge. Dodds has struggled to get a tune out of the Black Cats and his hopes of extending his stay in the role now appear to be slim. The North East club have lost six games on the bounce and have slid down to 12th in the table, 11 points adrift of the play-offs. This season’s hopes of gaining promotion to the Premier League are all but gone, as focus now turns towards planning for the next. Sunderland chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has been eyeing the club’s next manage…
