Scout’s honour in Black Cats’ search

Jul 15 2009 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

SUNDERLAND have made the appointment of a chief scout based in the North East their priority as they begin the hunt for Mick Brown’s successor.

Brown ended his two-and-a-half year spell at the Stadium of Light last week as the Black Cats step up efforts to improve a scouting network that has failed to provide value for money since the end of the Bob Murray-era.

And despite claims that Ricky Sbragia is in line to succeed him, Sunderland are understood to want someone with front-line experience to be a like-for-like replacement for Brown.

Sbragia, who is understood to have been contacted by Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce about a coaching role at Ewood Park last week, has been offered an overseeing role in the scouting department which would make him the effective ‘director of recruitment’.

Sunderland want someone who is prepared to work from the North East and while Niall Quinn would like the astute Sbragia to part of that, the former Black Cats boss has always maintained that he prefers working on the training ground.

Sbragia will make a decision on his future in the next few days but after gaining huge respect behind-the-scenes at the dignified way he handled the difficult last few weeks of the season, he is assured of a “job for life” at the Stadium of Light.

Employing Sbragia would be just the first step in a complete re-organisation of Sunderland’s scouting network – and the club are understood to be prepared to invest heavily to make the overhaul a successful one.

The Black Cats may make an approach to former chief scout Dave Bowman, currently fulfilling that role at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Quinn has made a point of praising Bowman’s work under Mick McCarthy, which including the unearthing of Danny Collins, Nyron Nosworthy and Dean Whitehead – all mainstays of Sunderland’s last two campaigns in the top flight. But Wolves would fiercely resist any overtures to poach the experienced North East-based scout from their backroom staff.