Main reason for Lee Johnson’s Sunderland departure revealed amid Jermain Defoe speculation

Sunderland manager Lee Johnson was sacked by the club’s board because of their concerns with results and not because of any dispute regarding Jermain Defoe, as per a report from the Sunderland Echo.

The former Black Cats’ opted against bringing the ex-England international back to the club during his tenure despite being linked with his services during the winter transfer window, with the 39-year-old leaving Scottish Premiership side Rangers in January.

This was much to the displeasure of some of the third-tier side’s supporters who wanted to see the forward return for one last spell at the Stadium of Light following a successful first stint there.

That month also proved to be the end of Johnson’s tenure at the club, being dismissed on the 30th following a humiliating 6-0 away defeat at Bolton Wanderers, though that sacking came as a surprise to some due to their league position at the time.

They were just one point adrift of the automatic promotion zone at that point and were sitting reasonably comfortable in the top six at that point – and that departure was followed by Defoe’s arrival the next day with the then-managerless club seemingly taking that decision at a board level.

That only went on to increase speculation surrounding the reasons behind the decision to move Johnson on – but the Sunderland Echo have confirmed it had nothing to do with the decision from the 40-year-old not to recruit Defoe.

The Verdict:

This should be good news for the League One side’s fans – because making a big decision like a sacking based on such a small issue such as not signing a player would have been a damning insight into how decisions are made.

Despite recent criticisms of the board and supporters have every right to do so, they