Mike Dodds has steadied the Sunderland ship, but he isn’t a long term answer as our head coach (2024)

Ever since he was placed in interim charge following the decision to part company with Michael Beale, my views on Mike Dodds and his stewardship of Sunderland’s first team have ranged from ‘He’ll do a solid job’ to ‘He resembles a slightly edgy PE teacher on his first assignment with a group of expectant pupils’.

It’s often been an exasperating experience to watch us play under the former Birmingham academy coach, but then again, that’s been our season in a nutshell.

Indeed, when pictures emerged of Dodds and the squad arriving at the Hawthorns on Saturday, sporting their shiny new Hummel training tops, he looked like a nervous substitute who’d been sent out to warm up in front of a packed house at Wembley.

Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images

However, despite his somewhat evasive nature during media duties and lack of presence on the touchline, Dodds has steered Sunderland to two impressive away results in the past week, picking up four points from six against two promotion hopefuls and ensuring that our Championship status was secured in the process.

Five clean sheets in six games represents a more than solid return as our defence has gradually tightened up, and a switch to incorporate wing backs against Leeds United and West Bromwich Albion showed Dodds’ tactical nous at its best, as the Lads responded with two exceptionally disciplined displays.

However, in spite of our recent upturn in performance and the praise received by Dodds, it’s an inescapable, if perhaps slightly harsh truth that he simply can’t be in the running for the head coaching role on a permanent basis- not if 2024/2025 is to be the season during which we set our sights on the top six once again.

Dodds, like Beale before him, may be an effective operator as part of a wider coaching team, during which his tactical insight and football intellect can be utilised effectively, but as the man at the apex of the club’s first team setup? Forget it.

Photo by Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images

Just as the amiable and respected Ricky Sbragia wasn’t given the job on a permanent basis after overseeing our escape from relegation in 2008/2009, Dodds shouldn’t be in the running for the role once his latest spell in interim charge comes to an end.

With three games left- all of which are winnable- he has the opportunity to leave the squad in a better position and with morale higher than he found it, which would represent a job well done. The pressure is now off and hopefully the Lads can start to lay the groundwork for next season with some positive displays against Millwall, Watford and Sheffield Wednesday.

If all of this sounds like too harsh an outcome for a man who, by all accounts, seems to be respected by the players, the events of 2023/2024 and our aspirations for next season have to be taken into account.

The home and away fixtures against Leeds and West Brom certainly proved fruitful for Dodds and the players, but Saturday’s victory was only our second in eleven games, and during that time, we witnessed some real horror shows. Indeed, when things were bad under Dodds, they were exceptionally bad, and that’s a risk we simply can’t run again.

The next head coach needs to be capable of combining the defensive resilience we’ve recently seen under Dodds with the kind of attacking flair that was lost when Tony Mowbray departed. Furthermore, he needs to be someone with stature, presence, and ideally the experience of steering a club through the grind of a forty-six game Championship season.

If we can accept that there were mitigating factors behind the fluctuating form of many of our players during 2023/2024, there ought to be no such excuses when we kick off the new campaign.

Whether the new man is appointed between now and the final whistle being blown against Sheffield Wednesday or shortly afterwards, time is of the essence and stability needs to be quickly established.

Regardless of what’s gone on since he replaced Beale, it must be said that Dodds hasn’t shied away during his time in charge.

His post-match interviews have often been uncomfortable to listen to and some of his selections have been slightly baffling, but he’s clearly a man with the best interests of the club at heart and he clearly cares about the development of our younger talent, with the ongoing selection of Chris Rigg a real positive.

However, as we attempt to consign this season to the history books and start to move forward with a new sense of purpose during 2024/2025, the club needs to cast the net as wide as possible in the search for a new head coach, rather than taking the easy option and simply promoting from within.

They can’t afford to get it wrong again.