Sunderland still hope to appoint their next manager prior to the club's League One fixture this Saturday.

What's the talk?

That's according to Scott Wilson's recent report for the Northern Echo, in which the journalist claims that Kristjaan Speakman and Sunderland's recruitment team are still confident that they will appoint Lee Johnson's successor in the Stadium of Light dugout prior to Saturday's trip to AFC Wimbledon.

Wilson goes on to state that the Sunderland hierarchy have kept in contact with a number of candidates for the role over the past week, two of which include former Hull City manager Grant McCann and ex-Preston North End and Norwich City boss Alex Neil.

Fans will be buzzing

Considering just how dramatically Sunderland's promotion push has fallen off since the turn of the year, with the Mackems having won just one of their seven league fixtures in 2022 - losing four, including a 6-0 drubbing by Bolton Wanderers, and drawing the remaining two games - the news that the Black Cats could have a new manager in place by the weekend is sure to have left fans buzzing.

And, considering the job McCann did at Hull last season, guiding the Tigers back to the Championship at the first time of asking by winning the League One title, the 41-year-old would very much appear to be a fantastic candidate for the role.

Furthermore, the former Northern Ireland international also guided Doncaster Rovers to the League One play-offs back in 2018/19, a feat which led to the manager being appointed by the then-Championship outfit Hull.

As such, with the Mackems' sole objective of the season being to secure passage back to the second tier of English football, the appointment of a coach who has a record of two top-six finishes in his last two seasons in the division would very much appear to be an excellent choice by Speakman and the Sunderland hierarchy.

In other news: Speakman howler: Big Sunderland blow emerges after "late U-turn", fans surely fuming