"Silly" - Claim made as Jermain Defoe eyes Sunderland manager's job | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Jermain Defoe has thrown his hat into the ring to become the next Sunderland head coach.

The Black Cats are currently searching for a long-term replacement for Michael Beale, who was dismissed in February.

The Wearside outfit are planning on waiting until the end of the campaign to confirm an appointment.

Mike Dodds has been placed in charge of the team until a successor is confirmed, with the team floundering in the mid-table of the Championship.

This appointment will be key, as Beale lasted just 63 days at the club, so they cannot afford another flop in the dugout.

Jermain Defoe not ready for Sunderland job

FLW’s Sunderland fan pundit Jack Austwicke is not convinced by the prospect of Defoe becoming the new head coach.

He believes the next appointment is too important to take a risk on someone with such little experience in management.

“I’ll be honest, I like the romance and story of it, but no I wouldn’t really like to see Jermain Defoe in the Sunderland job,” Austwicke told Football League World.

“I think it’d be a huge risk.

“I know he’s coaching at Tottenham, and sometimes you’ve got to take risks like that, but this appointment is way too important for us this summer.

“If they get this one wrong, then it’s going to be a really toxic place.

“They’ve got to get this one right, and I think taking such a huge risk on someone who hasn’t actually hasn’t managed a football team before would be silly.”

Defoe eager to manage Sunderland

Defoe threw his hat into the ring, claiming he would love to manage the club in the future.

The former striker confirmed he would jump at the chance to take over at one of his former sides.

“The Sunderland job? Why not? Even when I was a player, I always used to say I'd love to manage this club,” said Defoe, via the Mirror.

“If I got an opportunity, I wouldn't shy away from it, so let's go.”

front-runner for the position.

linked with the vacancy, as we await an official decision from the Championship side.

Sunderland need experience from new head coach

While it would be exciting for supporters to have a former player as their head coach, it is still far too big of a risk to experiment with Defoe coming in.

He simply lacks the experience that Sunderland need from their next manager.

The Black Cats want someone they know can push the team towards promotion to the Premier League, and Heckingbottom ticks that box.

Defoe might be a great manager, but he could also be ill-equipped for work at this level, and it is not worth Sunderland’s time to find out which is which, so this is perhaps one for the future.