An update has emerged on Sunderland and their efforts to bring in a replacement for Lee Johnson this week...

What's the talk?

The Sun journalist Alan Nixon has claimed that they remain in the interview phase of their search, with more than one name on their list of targets.

He Tweeted this in response to a question on the possibility of Roy Keane arriving at the Stadium of Light: "Second interview this week … among others."

Fuming

Sunderland fans will surely be fuming with this news as it suggests that the club are not close to appointing Johnson's successor. Where is the urgency from the board and Kristjaan Speakman?

The Black Cats lost 2-1 to Doncaster with their interim coaching set-up in place and they could struggle against Cheltenham on Tuesday night as they appear to still be some way off appointing a new head coach.

Every match between now and the end of the season will be vital in the promotion race and Sunderland may be throwing games away as they take their time on the manager front. They did not act quickly enough after sacking Lee Johnson to bring someone in before the weekend and that may have played a part in the 2-1 defeat to the team bottom of the League One table.

That defeat has left the club further away from the top two in the division and the gap could increase on Tuesday night if they fail to have a permanent manager in place. They will have the same set of coaches from Johnson's reign who also failed against Doncaster in charge this week, suggesting that they may struggle to pick up the three points in the match.

This is why fans will likely be absolutely fuming with the club's indecision and lack of progress in the last week or so. They have not taken decisive actions to replace Johnson effectively and efficiently and it appears to be costing them dearly on the pitch.

Supporters will surely be hoping that the situation is resolved as quickly as possible now that they are interviewing Keane for a second time, whether that means they decide to appoint him or someone else. The sooner the Black Cats have a permanent manager in place the sooner they can nail down the vision for the rest of the season and get everyone pulling in the same direction to achieve promotion.

AND in other news, Fans will love two-word reaction to SAFC manager question posed live on TV today...