Sunderland’s interim head coach Mike Dodds says he expects to be in charge this weekend – as things stand
Mike Dodds says he expects at this stage to be in charge of Sunderland’s trip to Bristol City on Saturday, but insists he has given no thought as to whether he is a contender for the role on a permanent basis.
Tuesday night, Dodds led his second victory as an interim head coach as a reorganised team and system defeated Leeds United. Though Sunderland is still looking for Tony Mowbray’s replacement, unless something drastically changes this weekend, Dodds will probably be in charge.
“At the moment I do expect to be in charge this weekend,” Dodds replied.
“I’ve only been thinking about the game. I’m sure I’ll speak with those in positions of authority tomorrow to find out the current state of affairs and where the land is.”
Although he has held talks with the club, Reims head coach Will Still is still the front-runner to succeed Mowbray. It is currently unknown whether Sunderland will decide to obtain his release from the Ligue 1 team or whether he will ultimately decide to leave.
Dodds claims that the person in charge will inherit a “unbelievable” dressing room, but he won’t consider the possibility that he could be the one after his day off on Wednesday.
Dodds responded, “From my perspective, and I want to be respectful to the question, it’s been an absolute whirlwind seven or eight days,” when asked about his prospects.
“I’ve given the game so much thought that I need the day off tomorrow. We do so much analysis and go into so much detail that the staff must be tired of me. I feel like I might be too intense with the players at times, so I think they need a break from me. To make sure I’m ready for Thursday and Friday, I need to mentally reset. I will continue to plan and prepare as I have for the past fifteen months, and I will do so for as long as necessary.
“Since Tuesday, everything has been extremely hectic. I was aware of the difficulty of these games and the amount of work I would have to do to ensure the team was ready.
Tomorrow is my day off, and I’m excited as hell. I’m going to try to shut off and spend the day shopping for Christmas. After that, Thursday will be spent trying to get ready for Saturday as usual.
“As I stated at the beginning, I like to try to plan three or four games in advance, and that’s still the case, head coach or not. We’ve started preparing for Coventry a week on Saturday, and the arrangements for Bristol are set.
“Whoever gets this job has an amazing dressing room, regardless of the two outcomes. They have a sincere group of players who are driven to improve and who genuinely want to take this team to the next level. The result will be the result, whether or not that occurs. I believe that the players’ sincere desire to play for the football team, which hasn’t always been the case, is evident to the fans.
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