Sunderland have announced that manager Dick Advocaat has stepped down from his position and left the club with immediate effect.
The 68 year old has been in charge of the first team since initially coming in on a temporary basis in March, but stayed on after steering the club to safety after relegation looked to be a certainty.
This season however, Advocaat has struggled to get the best out of his players, they have picked up just three points from the opening eight games and are next to bottom of the table without a win.
“I want to thank everyone who has stood behind me,” Advocaat said in a statement released by Sunderland.
“This is a very special football club, with so many great people, but I feel it is the right time to do this — not for me, but for the club.
“I have made the decision to go after only eight games as I felt it was important to give everyone time turn things around — like we did last year.
‘I am thankful to the chairman (Ellis Short) for understanding my feelings and I remain on good terms with everyone at the club.”
No surprise really, we knew this was coming. He’s too nicer bloke to stay in the cut throat game of football such as it is now
Hope he enjoys his retirement, pity he didn’t come to the club a decade or two ago
Not the man for the job, should have left at the end of last season, now we are in the crap
prob the best manager we’ll ever have forced out of our club by the shower of *****e players who run our club they have shafted and robbed everyone of our fans
The players are once again the one’s who should shoulder the blame for this, but they are not man enough, just disgraceful weeds who throw their toys out of their prams when they are told something they dont like. Total discrace to the club and shirt
Big Sam is the favourite for the job now and for me that is a no brainer, it has to be him, he is the only one that would take no *****e from the players and sort the joke of a defence out. He would also weed out the trouble makers. GET SAM IN