Ex-Sunderland boss ‘shortlisted’ for Scottish FA chief football officer role | OneFootball

Jack Ross has been named on the shortlist to become the Scottish FA’s chief football officer, Daily Record reports. The former Sunderland manager is currently Newcastle United’s head of football strategy.

Ross took charge at Sunderland in May 2018 after back-to-back relegations to League One. He finished fifth in his first season, losing 2-1 to Charlton Athletic in the play-off final, and also lost the EFL Trophy final to Portsmouth on penalties at Wembley.

He was sacked early in 2019/20 with the team sixth, and they slipped to eighth before winning promotion a year later. Ross later managed Hibernian, reaching a Scottish Cup final, and Dundee United. The report lists the 49-year-old among the leading candidates to replace Andy Gould, who left for a major role at FIFA, and it remains unclear if he would leave St James’ Park.

Former Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet will retire at the end of the season. He made 101 appearances for the club from 2010 to 2013, keeping 33 clean sheets and helping them to a highest finish of 10th before joining Liverpool.

Mignolet played 204 times for Liverpool, winning a Champions League winners’ medal and finishing runner-up in that competition, the EFL Cup and the Europa League. Now 38, he has helped Club Brugge win four Pro League titles and three domestic cups. They are second entering the Championship Play-off with 10 games left, and he aims to help secure a 20th title and a second star.

Source: Sunderland Echo