Roy Keane: Phillips slams ‘messy’ Sunderland manager hunt after confirmed news
Kevin Phillips has slammed Sunderland for the ‘messy’ way in which they conducted their search for a new manager.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the Stadium of Light legend suggested the club “put all their eggs in on basket” and then panicked.
On Friday (10 February), the Black Cats announced the appointment of Alex Neil on a 12-month rolling contract.
It came after a very public pursuit of former manager Roy Keane, who turned down the opportunity to return to the Stadium of Light.
Speaking on ITV (4 February), Keane said “the contract has to be right” when discussing his potential appointment on Wearside.
When asked by Football Insider for his thoughts on the way in which Sunderland conducted their search for a new manager, Phillips said:
“I have to be careful what I say but from the outside looking in, it looks a bit of a mess. That is me being honest. It looked like a bit of a panic situation.
“Did they put all of their eggs in one basket for someone they thought that they had. In football, you have to have two or three people lined up just in case. I got the impression they did not have that. I hope I am wrong though. I hope that wasn’t the case.
“The way they have announced the new manager has probably surprised and angered a lot of fans. They need to start winning football matches quickly.”
In other news, Kieran Maguire has claimed things could get ‘toxic’ at Sunderland after Charlie Methven images emerge.