Simon Grayson reacts to Liam Rosenior, Sunderland news | OneFootball

The search for a new Sunderland manager continues, with the Black Cats still searching for a successor to Michael Beale after his sacking earlier in the year.

The Mackems parted ways with the former Queens Park Rangers boss in February, leaving Mike Dodds to oversee first-team matters until the end of the campaign.

The Stadium of Light hierarchy have taken their time over the next appointment to make sure they pick the right man for the job, with a number of managers linked to the vacancy over the past few months.

One recent name that has cropped up is Liam Rosenior, with the former Hull City manager given the axe by the Tigers days after the Championship season came to an end, and Simon Grayson believes he could be the man to fit the bill on Wearside.

“Have to be given time”: Simon Grayson on Sunderland manager vacancy

Grayson knows as well as anyone about the trials and tribulations of being in the dugout at the Stadium of Light, having had an 18-game spell in charge of Sunderland in 2017.

With the team in disarray both on and off the field after relegation from the Premier League, the former Blackpool manager was unable to halt their slide in the Championship, overseeing three wins during his time in charge.

Tony Mowbray suffered a similar fate at the start of the current campaign, as he was given the boot after amassing 37 points from the first 25 matches of the season, before Beale’s torrid time at the helm.

Mowbray will have felt an injustice over his sacking from the club, just like Rosenior will have done over on Humberside earlier this month, and Grayson isn’t surprised he has already been linked to the role further up the east coast.

Speaking to Football League World via freebets.com, Grayson said: “When you look at Liam’s record, he did really well at Hull to get just short of the playoffs, and it was a big surprise when he lost his job.

“I’m sure he will be linked with a lot of clubs, the biggest thing you can look at with Sunderland is that they haven’t done anything yet, it’s been an ongoing process.

“There have been a lot of names mentioned from UK-based managers and abroad; Will Still is a name that has been mentioned for many, many months.

“One thing Sunderland will regret is sacking Tony Mowbray when they did when they were in a real strong position.

“But that’s part and parcel of what’s happened, there’s been a big turnaround of managers at Sunderland over the last five, ten years, and at some point there has got to be some consistency and managers have to be given time to implement their ideas.

“They need to get this appointment sorted sooner rather than later, but also make sure it’s the right appointment going forward for a number of years.”

Liam Rosenior speculation grows as Sunderland target Will Still starts negotiations with Norwich City

Rosenior looks to be becoming the main target for Sunderland in recent days, with long-term target Will Still said to be attracting interest from Norwich City.

The 31-year-old is said to have been attracting interest from the Stadium of Light since the vacancy arose in the north east, leading to him leaving Ligue 1 side Reims earlier this month.

Sunderland were said to have spoken to Still [pictured] before appointing Beale back in December, only for talks to break down, before supposedly reigniting that interest a matter of months later.

But with Norwich City joining the managerial merry-go-round last week after sacking boss David Wagner, the Canaries are said to have joined the race for the much-admired young boss.

BBC Norfolk’s Chris Reeve reported that the Englishman had been spotted at the club’s training ground earlier this week, adding to speculation that they will appoint the former Sunderland target.

Bayern Munich youth coach Rene Maric is also said to have been linked to the Wearside vacancy, although the German giants are said to be considering promoting him to assistant manager to fend off interest.

With Still and Maric potentially off the cards, all attention looks to be turning towards Rosenior, who will believe he has unfinished business after his untimely dismissal three weeks ago.