ALLY McCOIST says Sunderland need an ambitious young manager to wipe away the misery of the Michael Beale era and ensure next season witnesses a viable push for promotion.
Mike Dodds will oversee the final two games of the current campaign, with Sunderland heading to Watford on Saturday before hosting Sheffield Wednesday on the final weekend, but the interim head coach will not be offered the job on a permanent basis.
Instead, Kristjaan Speakman and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus will step up their search for a new full-time boss at the start of the summer, with McCoist urging the duo to turn to youth.
The formal Sunderland striker has watched Kieran McKenna guide Ipswich Town to the brink of promotion this season, and feels the 37-year-old former Manchester United coach provides a template for what the Black Cats should be looking for.
“Things clearly didn’t work out with Michael Beale and I think Sunderland need their own version of Kieran McKenna at Ipswich,” said McCoist, who is now a popular TV and radio pundit. “He’s done a phenomenal job there. I look at him and wonder whether there’s any other young coaches who could go into Sunderland and galvanise the club.
“Someone needs to take the club forward because the potential there is incredible. They need a good, young, hungry coach who has his own ideas and will be supported by the board.
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“The fans are crying out for someone to come in that they can get behind, who can take them to the next level, because they’re stuck in the mud at the moment.
“The atmosphere at Sunderland is incredible. I went to the FA Cup game against Newcastle earlier this season and the atmosphere was the best I’ve seen outside of the Old Firm, that is how good it was.”
Sunderland’s season nosedived after Tony Mowbray was controversially dismissed in the autumn, and McCoist still cannot believe the club opted to part company with the boss who led them to play-offs last season.
“I thought Tony Mowbray was the man for Sunderland and I still for the life of me can’t understand what happened with him,” said McCoist, in an interview with talkSPORT BET. “The season before they were deservedly beaten by Luton in the play-offs and they didn’t start this season poorly. Now I look at them and they need somebody to go in and really galvanise the place.”
* Ally McCoist was speaking to sports betting site talkSPORT BET
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