Sunderland appoint Dick Advocaat as interim head coach
Sunderland have this morning moved to announce the appointment of Dick Advocaat as interim head coach after the Dutchman broke the news to the local media late last night.
The much-travelled former Holland manager replaces the sacked Gus Poyet for a 9 game stint in which the club hope to retain their Premier League status. Sunderland's sporting director Lee Congerton was instrumental in the negotiations after receiving the recommendation from former employer Frank Arnesen. Sir Alex Ferguson and Carlo Ancelotti are also said to have given the Dutchman glowing reports after Congerton reached out for expert opinions.
Advocaat will work alongside long-term friend Zeljko Petrovic who joins as assistant head coach and Adrian Tucker who was out of work following stints with Swansea and England Under-20's.
Following the announcement, Sunderland chairman Ellis Short said: “Dick has an incredible CV and vast experience of managing at the very highest level. We have one aim only now – to climb the table and everyone is fully focused on the task ahead of us.”
Sporting director Lee Congerton is said to have already started work on finding Advocaat's successor who will be appointed in the summer when the Dutchman's contract expires.
Hi all! I'll be presenting this story more from the clubs point of view rather than a specific managers, like a sporting director/director of football so to speak. The OP includes snippets from several different news articles, so I take no credit and it was purely to get the wheels moving. I've also started the story with real fixtures and the real table as of the 20th of March, before Advocaat's first game in charge in reality. I hope you enjoy!
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