Mike Dodds explains his next steps at Sunderland and when he expects head coach search update

Mike Dodds says he expects to be updated on Sunderland’s search for a new head coach next week as the club’s planning for the next campaign steps up.

Dodds admitted his disappointment after his second spell as interim head coach this campaign ended in a 2-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, meaning that the Black Cats finished the Championship season in 16th position. The interim head coach said he didn’t know if an appointment would be made swiftly, and is planning to take a short break before the staff reconvene at the Academy of Light.

That will see the next round of summer recruitment meetings take place, and Dodds expects then to get more clarity on the search for a successor. Dodds and his fellow coaches are expected to remain at the club and have done some work planning the pre-season programme.

While there may be a wait for supporters to discover who the new boss is, Dodds said the club had done the right thing in being patient and said actions would speak louder than words this summer.

“I don’t have any indications at the moment, and that’s not because the club haven’t communicated anything, I was just so focused on trying to make sure we had a strong end to the season,” Dodds said.

“Obviously, that hasn’t happened for multiple different reasons. But I’ve been so focused on that, I haven’t really engaged in any other conversations and I haven’t wanted to engage in any other conversations. Over the next few days, from a personal perspective, I’ve got some reflections that I need to have if I’m going to improve and get better. I’m going to be a little bit selfish in the next few days and focus on me. Then after that point, I’ll be back in next week and we’ve got a number of meetings planned, so I’m sure there’ll be an update next week in terms of where they are with the process and who the person is going to be.

“I was asked in a press conference if it needs a statement or someone coming out and saying something about it [what’s happened this season], but my viewpoint is that actions speak louder than words,” Dodds added.

“The club have had a significant amount of time to speak to a number of people, which I think was the right thing because the last appointment obviously didn’t go the way they wanted it to go. So, I think they’ve made the right decision from that perspective. I think it’s seven weeks until we’re back in now, so we’ve done all our preparation this week in terms of what the next seven weeks look like for the players from an off-season perspective. We’ve started planning the first few weeks of pre-season. In those next seven weeks, actions will speak louder than words, whether that be the next head coach or players coming in or out. I feel like I’ve spoken a huge amount, and in the next seven weeks of the off season and then the six weeks of pre-season, it’s going to be a huge period for the football club, and actions will speak louder than words.”