Gus Poyet to be announced as Sunderland manager

The next 24 hours could see Gus Poyet being announced as Sunderland’s new manager, reports Sky Sports.

Kevin Ball was in interim charge for a fortnight after Paul Di Canio was sacked, and has seen a League Cup victory over Peterborough and Premier League defeats by Liverpool and Manchester United.

Brighton dismissed Poyet at the end of last season, and he has been a favorite for the Sunderland managerial post for more than a week.

Owner Ellis Short had promised that he would provide managerial stability to the club and took his time in deciding the right person for the job. Roberto Di Matteo, Tony Pulis and Gianfranco Zola were other rumored candidates.

Sunderland are at the bottom of the Premier League table, having got just one point from a draw against Southampton in their opening seven games.

“Here at the club, like every supporter, we would like to see long-term success on the pitch and stability at the club,” Short said in his matchday programme notes ahead of the clash with Manchester United.

“Unfortunately sometimes the quest for stability can be interrupted by the absolute necessity of staying in the league.

“This is because the long-term aim becomes irrelevant if we aren’t at the top level.

“We now have a very important decision to make. Our only consideration in making that decision is what is best for the club. In doing so, we feel the weight of the entire city and beyond, along with the history of this massive football club.

“The appointment of a replacement head coach is our priority and I urge you to ignore the speculation in the media about the selection process, because most of it is completely wrong.”

Kevin Ball did admit that the team had made progress since he took over charge and he had no idea when an appointment would be made.

He said: “There are standards I have spoken to them about in training. They have worked hard, but there are still a lot of areas to improve on.”