Sanchez wants Cats job..

Lawrie Sanchez has thrown his name in the hat for the vacant Sunderland job and has even discussed this with his current employers.

He is said to be very keen on becoming the new Sunderland manager, so much so he has already discussed with his Northern Ireland bosses the possibility of managing both jobs.

‘I’ve had assurances from the IFA they will play ball with me,’ he said.

‘And they feel I could do both a job in domestic football and the Northern Ireland job side by side.

‘I have around 20 months left on my contract, after which and I feel the natural thing would be for me to leave international football and step back into club management, ideally in the Championship or the Premiership.

‘In the meantime, I believe I could do a domestic club job and my current one at the same time.

‘Once next season starts I’ll have 12 games left with Northern Ireland, I’m sure that would be manageable.’

Speaking specifically about Sunderland, Sanchez continued,

‘It’s obviously very nice to be linked with a club the size of Sunderland, very flattering too,’ he admitted.

‘But I have heard nothing from the club and wouldn’t say I’m actively pursuing the job at this stage.

‘It’s massive club with enormous potential though, and a fantastic opportunity for somebody – however, I’m not pushing anything either way at the moment.’

Sunderland have already stated that they will take their time on choosing a new manager to lead them in next season’s Championship campaign. However with a bid from a Niall Quinn consortium to take over the club imminent, it would seem a new manager will not be appointed until the future of the club is sorted first.