Major Sunderland managerial update involving Roy Keane emerges

Roy Keane is no longer under consideration to become the new Sunderland manager after turning down an offer of the job, according to The Athletic.

The Irishman was widely tipped to return to the club he won promotion to the Premier League with as a manager in 2007 and he was the Black Cats’ hierarchy’s number one choice to replace Lee Johnson according to many reports.

And despite The Athletic reporting that the 50-year-old was offered the job on Wednesday following a second round of interviews with candidates, Keane will not be making a heroic comeback to Wearside as things stand.

Keane was coy on matters regarding the vacancy at the Stadium of Light when appearing on ITV Sport last week, uttering a ‘see what happens’ stance amid a lot of excitement from the Sunderland fanbase regarding his potential return.

But now the job has opened up once more seemingly, with the likes of Grant McCann, Alex Neil and Sabri Lamouchi also interviewed for the role in recent days.

The Verdict

Sunderland fans had their hearts set on a reunion with Keane and for whatever reason it appears that he’s turned the job down.

He did state live on television that the contract had to be right and perhaps this is where it has all fallen apart.

Keane though is a man that hasn’t been a manager in 11 years and perhaps it was unwise to pin the hopes of saving a club on someone who has been out of the game for that long.

The likes of the aforementioned McCann and Neil have better recent credentials and it wouldn’t be a shock to see either appointed in the coming days.

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