Sunderland bowed out of the Championship season in typically flat fashion when casting an eye over how dismal their campaign had been, losing 2-0 to Sheffield Wednesday who celebrated survival whilst the Black Cats looked dejected.
Mike Dodds will exit knowing he couldn’t turn around the sinking ship in the Sunderland hot seat in the end, with a new face now coming in the summer to try and pick up the pieces and lift up the Wearside outfit from off the floor to push for promotion next season.
Many names are being linked with the second-tier club’s vacancy now, including this manager who has just left his ex-employers to further open up the possibility he could finally come in as the new Sunderland boss.
Sunderland looking at newly sacked boss
Away from rumours circulating that Sunderland are looking at the likes of Rene Maric and Danny Rohl to replace Dodds – with the latter name inflicting that disappointing final-day defeat onto the Wearside outfit – the Black Cats are now actively going after another face who was in the running for the job back in December.
Departing Stade De Reims at the start of this month after things started to go sour, with three defeats on the spin in Ligue 1 closing out his time in France, Will Still is now the obvious frontrunner for the vacancy having been heavily linked before on top of now being conveniently unemployed.
TalkSPORT presenters David Kelly and Andy Brassell added fuel to the fire by stating that Still had been house-hunting in the Wearside era, so it feels like a matter of time now before the much-talked-about 31-year-old lands the Black Cats gig.
For players such as Adil Aouchiche, this potential appointment could prove to be a lifeline with the French midfielder excelling in the same division Still made a name for himself in before exiting abruptly.
It does, however, remain to be seen whether Still can get a tune out of the ex-Paris St. Germain man in the tough demands of the second tier, but the former Reims boss will fancy his chances at succeeding in England having overperformed in France to be in the running for the Sunderland job.
Why Still could benefit Aouchiche at Sunderland
Before a major move to the Stadium of Light, Aouchiche was a promising young prospect in Ligue 1 having performed excellently at Saint Etienne after leaving the Parc Des Princes behind.
Picking up two goals and ten assists from 77 games in the top French division for his former employers, Sunderland gambled on Aouchiche in a risky move that hasn’t really paid off looking at his numbers this season.
Aouchiche only managed to pick up an unsatisfactory two goals and two assists from 28 Championship contests, with Still potentially the consistent presence the French attacking midfielder needs in the dug-out to come good and thrive in English football.
The 31-year-old could well be the breath of fresh air the entire stale Sunderland squad need to kick on and forget their dismal 16th-placed finish under Dodds, with the eccentric manager securing two 11th and 12th-place finishes for Reims in his two full campaigns as minnows for the division.
His standout time at Reims even saw football journalist Julien Laurens describe the Belgian as a “genius”, with Sunderland now wanting a slice to see how he fares in the EFL.
Overseeing that positive 11th spot in the 2022/23 season with a squad coming in at an average age of just 23.4, switching between using attacking formations of a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-3-3, Aouchiche could excel in this new set-up as an attacking midfielder if given time to gel and flourish alongside his equally exciting and young teammates.
Indeed, Still has proven he can get the most out of young players before, notably Folarin Balogun, who scored 16 in 29 under his wing at Reims. There is no certainty Aouchiche would rack up similar but numbers, of course there isn’t, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest that the Sunderland managerial target knows how to extract top performances from young forwards.
Sunderland will know something bold is needed after the boring football served up by Dodds, with Still potentially the innovative face needed to start a new era afresh.
