Sunderland will appoint a top manager to replace Steve Bruce

Having dispensed with Steve Bruce’s services Sunderland are now looking for a replacement for the former-Birmingham boss.

The two favourites at the moment are Martin O’Neill and Mark Hughes. I think either would be a good appointment.

Struggling

Sunderland have been struggling in the Premier League this season and they are currently 16th in the table.

Their struggles came to a head at the weekend when the Black Cats lost at home to bottom of the table Wigan.

Bruce getting the sack really wasn’t a surprise. In fact I think he seemed also resigned to the fact that the end was near after the Wigan game. Steve Bruce isn’t a bad manager but the Black Cats position in the Premier League says it all.

Unemployed

The two aforementioned managers are excellent and are both out of work. Both bosses decided to walk out on their last clubs for differing reasons. However both are believed to be interested in getting back into management and Sunderland is a decent opportunity.

Rated

Martin O’Neill has been linked with many vacant positions since leaving Aston Villa. This is because he is known within the football world as one of the games thinkers. He seems to be the popular choice with the Sunderland fans as well.

O’Neill has done a good job at Leicester, Celtic and Aston Villa amongst others. A minority of Villa fans were unhappy with what they perceived as long ball football from their side under the Ulsterman. However I bet those Villa fans wish that O’Neill was still in charge of their club now, as the Villans haven’t exactly been brilliant since he left.

O’Neill has also been linked with the England hot seat set to be vacant next summer. O’Neill would definitely be a good boss for Sunderland. However one reason he left Villa was because the owner Randy Lerner wasn’t willing to give him more money to sign players.

I’m sure his appointment at Sunderland would probably be dependent on whether he is promised funds to sign new players.

Stable

Mark Hughes has always struck me as a boss that can bring stability to a club and that’s exactly what Sunderland need. Mark Hughes did a decent job at Manchester City and some of the players that are playing for City now was brought in by the Welshman.

He also managed to keep Fulham in the top half of the Premier League table before quitting his job. The reasons for him leaving Craven Cottage are still unknown but his decision to leave came as a surprise.

I like a lot of people, thought that Mark Hughes had another job lined up but it turned out that he hadn’t. It left me wondering why the Welshman decided not to sign a new contract with Fulham.

Inspiration

The North East club is in desperate need of inspiration. Whoever takes the job will have a big job on their hands. Sunderland have had a problem with scoring goals because they lack a prolific striker. They have lost the likes of Darren Bent, Asamoah Gyan and Danny Welbeck in the past 18 months.

Luckily enough though the transfer window opens in less than a month and the club would have the chance to bring in some new attacking players.

Survival

I think that Sunderland will survive the drop if either Martin O’Neill or Mark Hughes is appointed. Sunderland need to make a quick appointment to prevent the teams alarming slump in the Premier League.

Would will be the next Sunderland boss?