Sunderland have once again found themselves looking for a new permanent manager after Lee Johnson was relieved of his duties following the club's recent humiliating 6-0 defeat against Bolton Wanderers in League One.

In terms of who could come in and see out the remainder of the season in charge of the Black Cats, one name, in particular, has given the club a big boost in their search by reportedly making them aware of his interest in the currently vacant position.

What's the news?

According to a recent report from the Sunderland Echo, former Celtic manager Neil Lennon "has been mentioned" with the manager's position at the Wearside club "as he is believed to have made clear he wants to be considered."

This comes after it appeared as though Roy Keane was also in the frame.

Keane alternative

Having had two spells in charge of Celtic where he won many trophies as well as having stints in charge of Hibernian and Bolton, the 50-year-old has a total of 536 games under his belt as a manager, highlighting the experience he has of leading teams and winning titles, particularly at Celtic.

This is something that could make this an exciting and captivating appointment for the club's supporters, one that leaves them thrilled, especially when Keane has been out of the game for so long, and hardly has a decorated CV either as a manager.

For instance, during his tenure with the Black Cats, Keane won 42% of his matches but that tumbled when he took charge of Ipswich, prevailing in a measly 34.6% of his matches at the helm at Portman Road.

Like the former Sunderland boss, Lennon is currently without a job in management but his reported eagerness to be considered for the role at the Stadium of Light could well make it a pretty straightforward appointment for the Wearside club. That's something that would surely benefit the team, ensuring they have a new boss in sooner rather than later.

It must be taken into account how the Northern Irishman resigned from Celtic in his second spell with the Scottish club after falling 18 points behind Rangers halfway through their previous season. That's something that may well go against him if the Sunderland hierarchy does indeed consider appointing him.

That said, his previous exploits in Glasgow, where he won numerous trophies, shows he is a coach who is capable of handling the pressure of a job with a big club where supporters are expectant. As a consequence, his previous expertise could be just what Sunderland are looking for with Lee Johnson having a far less appealing CV when he joined; something that Keane, unfortunately, boasts too.

Moving forward, with Sunderland currently sat in third place in the League One table with 54 points on the board, five below leaders Rotherham United, if the club does appoint Lennon, he will have a lot of pressure on him to try and secure promotion by the end of the campaign.

Though, if he's shown an eagerness to take the job, he must be aware of what the job would entail and the pressures that would come with it given how Sunderland have now spent four seasons in League One.

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