Ex-Leeds United, Preston, and Sunderland boss Simon Grayson set for international management role | OneFootball

Simon Grayson could be set to take charge of the India national team after engaging in preliminary talks.

As a manager, Simon Grayson has enjoyed success with plenty of clubs throughout the EFL, including with the likes of Leeds United and Preston North End, albeit less so with Sunderland, and he could now be set for the India national team role.

That's according to Football Insider. Grayson, the former Leeds academy graduate, most recently managed Indian side Bengaluru FC, but is now out of work.

His most successful stint in the EFL arguably came with Leeds, where he was appointed manager in 2008. He was the mastermind behind a magnificent giant-killing in the FA Cup third-round victory over Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United with a 1-0 win at Old Trafford.

A few months later, he guided Leeds back up into the Championship, securing promotion from League One on the final day of the season with a dramatic win over Bristol Rovers. He maintained his position in the second tier for a few seasons, but a lack of financial backing saw him lose many of his best players, and after a string of subpar performances, he was let go in February 2012 by Ken Bates.

Grayson's other incredibly successful spell was in charge at Preston between 2013 and 2017, where he oversaw yet another promotion from League One, and the club have found stability as the joint longest-serving Championship side since then.

Ultimately, the former midfielder, who was raised in the North East, would see his stock fall in English football, primarily after his time with Sunderland. He would only oversee 18 competitive outings in charge of the Black Cats, winning on just three occasions before losing his job.

The toxic environment on Wearside at the time was well-documented in Netflix's 'Sunderland 'Til I Die' series, which encapsulated plenty of the drama and poor choices behind the scenes of the club's disastrous 2017/18 second tier campaign.

Following his spell with Sunderland, Grayson had a brief stint in charge of Bradford City, and also with Blackpool and Fleetwood Town, but none of them achieved much success for the experienced EFL manager with three League One promotions under his belt.

Grayson himself had also had two separate stints with Blackpool, tasting promotion with the Seasiders on the first occasion prior to his role with Leeds, but struggling during his second spell in the North West.

Grayson's most recent spell was with Indian side Bengaluru, a club based in the capital city of Bangalore, where he managed them from June 2022 until December 2023. In 48 games, Grayson won 22, drew 12, and lost 14 times. He guided them to be Indian Super League runner-up in 2022/23 and Indian Super Cup runner-up in the same year.

It appears as though his work has impressed in India, with Grayson now in talks to take up his first role of 2024. The 54-year-old is in preliminary talks to become the new manager of the India national team following the sacking of Igor Stimac on Monday.

Football Insider are reporting that Grayson is now "in talks over replacing Stimac as the new India manager after his five-year stint in charge of the national team was brought to an end."

The Croatian was relieved of his duties after a poor Asian Cup campaign and for his failure to take India to the third round of the World Cup 2026 qualifiers, too.

Simon Grayson's vast experience

Having overseen more than 750 matches, Grayson is a true stalwart of the EFL, and has the experience to be a success with India, should he take up the role.

Grayson has proven to have plenty of mettle as a manager previously, but the fit between him and his local side in Sunderland was evidently not a good one, and has perhaps permanently damaged his reputation as a coach in English football, too.

It's fair to say most managers would undoubtedly have struggled with the situation at Sunderland in the 2017/18 season, despite the fact they had only recently been relegated with some high-quality players.

If he can rebuild in India, there is no reason that he couldn't one day return to English football again. At 54, there is plenty of time for him to have multiple managerial roles left in his career, but India provides another opportunity to impress with a nation more heavily-populated than any other.