"A gamble worth taking" - Sunderland and a potential move for Will Still | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Sunderland are on the hunt for a new permanent manager following the sacking of Michael Beale.

Beale had only arrived at the Stadium of Light in December, replacing Tony Mowbray, but he was dismissed last month after winning just four of his 12 games in charge.

Mike Dodds has been appointed as interim head coach for the rest of the season, and while journalist Alan Nixon claimed that the 37-year-old could be handed the full-time role if he impresses, he has lost all of his four games in charge so far.

Former manager Alex Neil, who controversially left the club to join Stoke City in August 2022, is said to be "open" to a return to Wearside, while TEAMtalk claim that Marek Papszun, Paul Heckingbottom and Steve Cooper are in the frame.

However, HITC report that Reims head coach Will Still is the Black Cats' first choice target, and the club have held a long-standing interest in the 31-year-old having made an approach for him following Mowbray's exit in December.

After a run of six consecutive defeats, Sunderland currently sit 12th in the Championship table, 11 points from the play-off places.

Should Sunderland pursue Will Still as permanent Michael Beale replacement?

We asked some of our FLW writers for their thoughts on whether Still should be Sunderland's top managerial target.

James Reeves

Given the fact that Sunderland attempted to bring Still to the Stadium of Light in December, it would be no surprise to see them reignite their interest in the summer.

Still led Reims to an impressive 17-game unbeaten run in the league after replacing Oscar Garcia in October 2022, and his side finished 11th in the Ligue 1 table last season.

Reims are on course to improve on that position this campaign as they currently sit ninth, with Still continuing to prove his managerial credentials.

Still has previously claimed that he would be open to managing in the Championship, and his agent has also indicated that his client could make a move to the second tier, so he is a realistic target for the Black Cats.

There is no doubt that Still is a manager with huge potential, and while he would be risk considering his age and lack of Championship experience, he would certainly be a gamble worth taking.

The likes of Heckingbottom and Cooper, who have previously achieved promotion to the Premier League, will be attractive to the Sunderland board, but Still would be an exciting choice, and he would likely be perfectly suited to the club's model of developing younger players.

Sam Rourke

Will Still strikes me as the manager that the vast majority of Sunderland fans want to see at the helm.

Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Co tried to appoint him last time out but the agreement never materialised with Mick Beale ending up being the chosen one, in what turned out to be a disaster for all parties involved.

Still has done an excellent job whilst at Reims after he took over from Oscar Garcia.

He managed to guide the French outfit comfortably away from what looked like a certain relegation whilst he's delivering impressive results at the moment with the side sat in 9th.

The fact that Still is only 31 would certainly adhere to Louis-Dreyfus' playbook which has a pinpoint focus on youth and with one eye on the future.

Still's ability to speak multiple languages would lend itself to what is a quite continental looking Black Cats side and it's an appointment that would certainly enthuse the Sunderland fanbase.

The one obvious question mark here is his experience as being a manager in the Championship in England but we've seen enough examples now to know that isn't a distinct variable that determines success.