Sunderland sack Poyet, Advocaat to take charge until end of season

LONDON — Sunderland have sacked manager Gus Poyet and will now look to finalise a deal that will see former Rangers manager Dick Advocaat take charge of the team until the end of the season.

Advocaat is understood to have discussed the proposal with director of football Lee Congerton, but there are still issues such as wages to sort out and the Dutchman will also want a large bonus if he manages to keep Sunderland in the Premier League.

The vastly experienced 67-year-old, who is well known to Congerton due to mutual friend Frank Arnesen and has always wanted to work in the Premier League, may also want to guarantee that he will be considered for the job on a permanent basis when the situation is reviewed again at the end of the season.

Should he receive the necessary assurances from Congerton and Sunderland owner Ellis Short, Advocaat should be in charge of the team before the trip to West Ham next weekend.

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce and Real Madrid assistant manager Paul Clement are possible candidates for the Sunderland post as well.

Allardyce is admired by Short, as he has a track record that suggests Sunderland will not have to worry about relegation if he is manager, although it remains to be seen whether he will also be offered a new contract by West Ham.

Clement is a fascinating alternative and his reputation has soared as Carlo Ancelotti’s assistant in Madrid. The 43-year-old Londoner has already worked with Congerton at Chelsea and would be willing to take the job, even if Sunderland are relegated in May.

Given the management structure and Congerton’s role, he would seem a more natural fit as head coach than a more traditional English manager like Allardyce.

For the time being, though, Sunderland are more worried about making sure they stay aboard on the Premier League gravy train and will only consider who is the best person to succeed Poyet long term when they know what division they are going to be in next season.

Poyet held his final training session at the Academy of Light on Monday morning and was braced to be told of his dismissal after Telegraph Sport had carried news of the board’s decision on Sunday night.

The Uruguayan had hoped to fight on after the shocking 4-0 home defeat by Aston Villa, but Congerton and Short, as well as chief executive Margaret Byrne, felt they had to make a change to avoid a disastrous relegation to the Championship.

Sunderland have not been in the bottom three all season, but fell to within one point of the drop zone over the weekend thanks to Burnley’s shock 1-0 victory over Manchester City.

A short statement from the club yesterday read: “Sunderland AFC have parted company with head coach Gus Poyet this afternoon. The club would like to place on record its thanks to Gus and wishes him well for the future ... An announcement will be made in due course regarding the head coach position.”