Simon Jordan delivers verdict on Lee Johnson’s Sunderland departure

Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has said he can understand why Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus opted to part company with head coach Lee Johnson this past weekend.

Johnson’s tenure at the Black Cats ended in embarrassment after a 6-0 drubbing away at Bolton Wanderers and he was sacked a day later after just 14 months in charge.

Despite leaving the Wearside club in third position in league one, results had become inconsistent and pressure was growing amongst the fanbase regarding Johnson’s position.

He also did not seem convinced about the potential signing of Jermain Defoe – one that was confirmed as a done deal 24 hours after Johnson departed the club.

Johnson was appointed as manager before Louis-Dreyfus officially took over the club in February 2021 and he’s had to make his first major decision since being in charge, with the hunt now underway for the ex-Bristol City man’s successor.

As a former owner himself, Jordan can understand why Dreyfus came to the decision he did and believes that whoever the new man in charge is needs to get them back to the Championship this season.

“They’re third in the league so there’s no catastrophe but you would have thought that Sunderland’s expectation level would be to win the league,” Jordan said on talkSPORT.

“Now that’s undermining the principles of what Rotherham and Wigan are doing, it’s also discounting the fact that there are a load of teams in that league like Ipswich and Sheffield Wednesday that will have similar ambitions that will come from similar places of achievement and some of them significantly more.

“I think he’s got the right to take out a manager that he never appointed.

“I think he’s a young man that’s cutting his teeth and hopefully he’s got