Dick Advocaat has rejected the opportunity of staying at the Stadium of Light as Sunderland’s full time manager.
The will he, won’t he? saga has been going on since before the end of the season, but the man who saved the Black Cats from the drop has let the club know his decision quickly after the season ended so the club can get searching for a new man to take over.
The 67 year old was brought in after Gus Poyet was sacked with the club in the bad situation of being in the drop zone, Advocaat quickly won the respect of Sunderland fans by making sure the team beat Newcastle once again before steering the club clear of the relegation places.
Sunderland made no secret that they wanted the Dutchman to stay with the club after the season was over and made him a very lucrative offer to stay on, but with age not on his side he continued with plans to retire from football to the Dutch countryside with his wife.
Advocaat said in a statement: “At certain moments in life you have to make a decision and I am almost 68 years old. A number of clubs contacted me but the decision was always Sunderland or nobody.
“I would like to thank the chairman, the staff and of course the fans. We gave everything and achieved what we set out to. Sunderland has been one of the highlights of my career.”
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You cant blame him wanting to spend his twilight years in retirement, he has been a good servant to many clubs and deserves his rest. He’ll never be forgotten here, Thanks Dick.