Sunderland thought they had found their manager of the future when they appointed Michael Beale just before Christmas last year. However, eight weeks and 12 games later, they had already gotten rid of him. The Black Cats won four of his games in charge but fans became restless with the team's style of play. He left the club in 10th place, and they never recovered to make it into the playoffs.

There are a number of candidates to replace interim manager Mike Dodds, according to the latest odds from football betting sites, including former Reims boss Will Still, Bayern Munich youth coach Rene Maric and former Mainz manager Bo Svensson. The likes of Paul Heckingbottom is another strong candidate who helped Sheffield United get automatically promoted from the Championship in 2023. 

It's clear that promotion to the Premier League. is the target next season, with football betting sites. having opened a market with plenty of familiar names for the role. It appears that Will Still is no longer one of the candidates for the job, as he is drifting on the market, and it was headed by St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson and Stockport manager Dave Challinor earlier in the week before Liam Rosenior was the man assumed in control. He has been replaced at the top of the betting by Frank Lampard, who was a big odds-on chance but has now drifted after money has come in for QPR's Marti Cifuentes, Didier Digard and Robbie Keane. Regis Le Bris of FC Lorient is the latest manager to be linked with the role in what has been a protracted manager search.

Could Heckingbottom Make Return to Management?

Paul Heckingbottom left Sheffield United last season, although it shouldn't be forgotten that he was hugely successful with the Blades in terms of engineering promotion to the Premier League in the first place.

The 46-year-old might jump at the chance to  return to management, with Sunderland offering him a chance to use the same blueprint that saw Sheffield United finish second in the Championship behind Burnley to seal automatic promotion to the top flight in 2023.

Betting apps think there's a distinct chance that we'll see this manager in the running for the vacant post, and he could well be on the shortlist. 

Will Maric Make Switch From Bayern Munich to Sunderland?

Rene Maric is hardly known by football fans in England, but the Austrian has leapt to the head of the football betting market to be the Sunderland manager. The 31-year-old is currently the manager of the Bayern Munich under-19s, having also been assistant manager at Leeds, Borussia Monchengladbach and RB Salzburg in his career to date. 

It remains to be seen if the Sunderland board wish to go for an unproven manager or someone with more of a track record. The latest pdds suggest that Maric will be in the running.

Svensson Set for Sunderland Talks 

Bo Svensson could be the right profile of manager for Sunderland, and it appears that the Dane is interesting the right people at Sunderland. He has had two previous managerial stops, with FC Liefering and Mainz in Germany. He took over Mainz with them deep in relegation trouble in 2021 but somehow managed to inspire them to safety that season before punching above their weight in the following two seasons before he decided to leave by mutual consent in November 2023. The former Denmark international would be an interesting candidate for fans to get behind.

Is Rosenior Ready for Instant Return to Management

Liam Rosenior did a pretty good job with Hill in his first fill-time management role, leading them to within one place of the Championship playoffs this season before falling just short on the final day. However, the owners at Hull surprisingly saw fit to sack Rosenior, citing a style of play they didn't agree with. His work with Hull will make him an interesting target for almost any Championship club.

Having experience of managing in the Championship could see the Wearside club identify Rosenior as the number one target to take charge, according to odds with new betting sites.