Sunderland have sacked coach Gus Poyet following Saturday’s embarrassing 4-0 home defeat by Aston Villa. The Black Cats now have just nine games left to avoid relegation and they currently sit just one point above the relegation zone.
Former Chelsea and Tottenham star Poyet had been in charge for 17 months at the Stadium of Light and had led them to safety last season following the departure of Paolo Di Canio. He also took them to the final of the Capital One Cup but crisis talks on Monday failed to convince the board that the Uruguayan should remain in charge.
There has been increasing unrest at the club and Poyet almost came to blows with Steve Bruce during the recent match with Hull. The sight of thousands of fans heading out of the stadium before half-time on Saturday proved the final straw. Poyet joins Bruce and Martin O’Neill on the list of recent Sunderland bosses that have failed to last the test of time. Remaining fixtures include trips to Everton, Arsenal and Chelsea.
Bookmakers have installed Dick Advocaat as even money favourite to replace Poyet. The former Rangers boss left his job as coach of the Serbian national team last year. Negotiations are already under way to bring in the 67-year-old on a short-term basis.
The youth academy pair of Paul Bracewell and Kevin Ball have also been linked with a temporary appointment, although odds vary wildly on the pair. Bracewell is 8-1 with Bet365 and only 4-1 with Ladbrokes while Ball is as high as 16-1 with BetVictor.
Sam Allardyce has seen a promising season at West Ham disintegrate in recent weeks, their 3-0 defeat at Arsenal being their fifth in eight matches with three draws. Their last victory came against Bristol City in the FA Cup in January. The Hammers have slid down the table to tenth place but are still comfortably clear of relegation. It is difficult to imagine Allardyce being enticed to the north-east at this stage of the season, especially with Sunderland due to visit the London club this coming Saturday. His price varies between 5-1 on Betfair and 9-1 on Betway.
Other more speculative candidates include Michael Laudrup (16-1), Mark Warburton (20-1) and Steve McLaren (25-1). The former England boss is as short as 7-1 with Ladbrokes.
