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Poll reveals new fan favourite to become next Sunderland head coach

Sunderland are expected to appoint a new head coach once the current season has concluded, but it is not yet clear who the club’s frontrunner is.

Tony Mowbray was dismissed in December and the subsequent appointment of Michael Beale lasted just 12 games.

Sporting Director Kristjaan Speakman has recently confirmed talks are underway with potential candidates and now fans have had their say on who they want to take the reigns.

We ran a poll on X and after over 800 votes, there were two clear favourites.

https://x.com/TomHansford72/status/1772956571548467212?s=20

The currently unemployed Steve Cooper received 44.3% of the votes, with Stade de Reims boss and previous frontrunner, Will Still narrowly behind with 41.9%.

Cooper was let go by Nottingham Forest earlier this season, but during his time at The City Ground he took Forest from the relegation zone in the second tier to survival in the Premier League.

He will likely be highly sought after in the summer so Sunderland may need to move fast if they want Cooper to take the club forward.

Still, on the other hand, is a name that many Wearsiders have become familiar with in recent times. The Northern Echo claim he is still a preferred candidate by Sunderland despite reports they failed to reach an agreement earlier this season.

The 31-year-old has said he would take a job in the Championship, but with his Reims side currently 9th in France’s top tier it wouldn’t be an easy task for a second tier club to poach him this summer.

Sheffield Wednesday’s Danny Rohl is another name gaining more and more momentum lately. The German boss has been at Hillsborough since October and he has given the Owls a fighting chance at survival this season. He received 10% of the poll’s votes.

Naturally names like Roy Keane have surfaced, although it doesn’t seem likely the club will go down that route. However, the next appointment is crucial.

A lot of trust has been lost since Beale’s appointment and another error in judgement with the next head coach could be devastating for Speakman and the board.