Tony Mowbray insists a left-field report linking Sunderland with a new head coach has not 'unnerved' him - and he says he wants to stay as head coach on Wearside beyond the summer. The Black Cats boss also laughed off a suggestion made this week that he might be looking to retire, with the 59-year-old saying he is 'energised' at the prospect of continuing to work with this talented young squad.
A tweet from respected journalist Fabrizio Romano earlier in the week claimed that Italian coach Francesco Farioli was 'on top of [Sunderland's] list' to take charge for next season, and that the 34-year-old has been approached by clubs in Italy, Portugal, England, and Turkey, have approached him since he left his most recent Turkish club Alanyaspor. That sent the rumour mill on Wearside into overdrive, but the idea that Sunderland would make a change defies all logic given that Mowbray is under contract for another year and his team continues to surpass all expectations by challenging for a play-off place in its first year back in the Championship, while playing an attractive brand of attacking football.
Mowbray accepts that if the club wanted to make a change, that call could be made by sporting director Kristjaan Speakman regardless of what the team achieves this season, but for his part he wants to stay on. Asked about the report, Mowbray said today: "As you would expect, I probably had 50 people send me the same article.
