Club legend Alex Rae has urged Sunderland to appoint former Rangers boss Alex McLeish as their new manager.
Former Black Cats midfielder Rae thinks McLeish can handle the pressure of managing a “monster” club like the recently relegated Premier League outfit.
Rae pointed towards McLeish managing Aston Villa as a former Birmingham City boss and the pressures he faced in that job.
Added with that, Rae thinks McLeish is a winning manager and he thinks he has what it takes to help Sunderland make an instant return to the promise land.
“For me, Sunderland need a manager like McLeish,” Rae told the Sunderland Echo. “The fans might not like me saying that, but he is perfect for them.
“Sunderland is a monster of a club. To be a manager there, you have to be able to deal with the pressures that come with the responsibility
“Sunderland is a monster of a club. To be a manager there, you have to be able to deal with the pressures that come with the responsibility.
“McLeish has been at Rangers, had to deal with being a previous Birmingham City boss at Aston Villa. He is a big, big character. Not only that, he is a manager who has trophies coming out of his ears. He has managed at that level, won cups north and south of the border and even managed at international level and abroad.”
David Moyes left his role at Sunderland after one season in charge following their relegation from the Premier League where they finished bottom of the table.
The Black Cats will now enter the Championship next season and join a list of clubs who are looking to earn promotion to the top tier of English football.
McLeish’s former club, Villa are one of those side’s after they failed to make an instant return to the Premier League this term.
They finished in the bottom half of the Championship table under Steve Bruce as they are now favourites to earn promotion for the forthcoming campaign.
The Midlands outfit were relegated to the second tier in 2015, having finished bottom of the table and recorded only three wins from their 38 matches.