Who will replace Lee Johnson as Sunderland manager?

Since the news that Lee Johnson had been sacked broke last night, a long list of names have been linked to the vacant managerial job on Wearside so let’s take a look at the favourites.

Duncan Ferguson:

The former Everton assistant manager is the bookies favourite to become the next Sunderland manager following his departure from the Merseyside club.

However, Ferguson has very limited experience as the main man at a club and has only led Everton out as manager on five occasions, only winning one in the process.

The Everton legend has recently departed the Toffees following the appointment of Frank Lampard as manager. It is also important to note Ferguson’s past connections with Newcastle United between 1998 and 2000.

Grant McCann:

The former Hull City manager has seemed the most popular choice among the Sunderland supporters since Johnson was sacked.

McCann has previously led Doncaster Rovers to the League One play-offs semi final in 2019 before joining Hull City where he suffered relegation from the Championship in 2020 before leading the Tigers to the League One title a year later.

The Northern-Irish manager was unfortunately sacked at the start of 2022 after Hull City found themselves in 19th place in the Championship.

In total, McCann has managed for 301 games with a 40.5% win percentage over his stints at Peterborough, Doncaster and Hull City.

Neil Warnock:

73-year-old manager, Neil Warnock, is also one of the favourites to take over at Sunderland.

Warnock would simply only be a temporary solution to Sunderland’s problems, only taking the job until the end of the season most likely.

Without a doubt, the former Middlesbrough manager is the most experienced manager on this list, having been a manager for 42 years now (before Grant McCann was even born).

Neil Warnock has managed over 1,556 games as manager and has been out of management since being sacked from Middlesbrough in November 2021.

The English manager has won promotion six times as a manager, most recently getting Cardiff City promoted to the Premier League in 2019.

Gus Poyet:

A return to the club for Gus Poyet could be on the cards, but remains unlikely.

The Uruguayan managed The Black Cats between 2013 and 2015 leading Sunderland to the great escape in 2014 and also a League Cup final appearance against Man City the same year.

Most recently, Poyet became Bordeaux manager in January 2018 but was suspended in August after criticising the clubs ownership publicly.