Ex-Sunderland manager Lee Johnson admits sacking was hard to take and outlines ‘only regret’

Lee Johnson has admitted that his departure from Sunderland was hard to take and that he does have one regret - although he also stressed his delight at the club’s eventual promotion. The former Black Cats boss was sacked at the end of January after a 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Bolton Wanderers, despite his side sitting third in League One at the time and just two points off then-leaders Rotherham.

Johnson won over half of his games in charge at the club - 41 from 76 - before his departure, doing more than his fair share of what ended up being a promotion season. He was replaced by Alex Neil who finished the job at the Stadium of Light, while Johnson moved north across the border to join Hibernian.

And despite the obvious joy that came with seeing former colleagues and friends win promotion, the 41-year-old admitted that the decision to sack him was tough to take and that he did harbour one ‘only regret’.

"When you lose your job, two points off the top [of the table], it's hard to take. But of course, I've gone public and said that there's always things that go on behind the scenes and sometimes you're aligned, sometimes you're not.” Johnson told BBC Sport. "On that particular occasion, it was a bit of a crescendo of not being aligned and that's where it led.

"Of course, 90% of those players I'd signed or re-signed and had worked really hard to bring those guys in so naturally, you're absolutely delighted for them. The staff also at Sunderland, a lot of these guys have been there 15, 20 or even 25 years so you do build rapport. They've been trodden on for the last six or seven years and I'm just delighted for them. I hope they all get a really big raise.

"There were just so many successes in there. I suppose the only