It seems Sunderland’s attempt to sign Will Still from Stade de Reims in the winter is still having some impact at the French side.
The Ligue 1 club are now officially out of risk of relegation, and as reported by MaLigue2, that’s actually too little for them, as they had been fighting for a spot in European competitions.
The outlet brings some quotes from president Jean-Pierre Caillot, who commented on the season’s result and their failures to make a better campaign.
Speaking about what went wrong, the club chief mentioned a specific point which MaLigue2 claims was Sunderland’s approach for Still.
“It’s like a nightmare. Every week we tell ourselves that we’re going to get back on track, but nothing works. We have the feeling we had a similar end to the season last year. We’re going to learn from it because we can see a number of weaknesses and things we need to improve. There’s a bit of work to be done on recruitment. We know at what point the season turned.
“He asked me what he should say at the end of the game because he was at a loss for words. What do you want me to say to him? Lately, he’s shown himself to be a great communicator. I support him because he’s my coach, full stop.”
Sunderland reportedly tried to sign Still to replace Michael Beale, who left the club in February this year. The Black Cats ended up appointing assistant Mike Dodds, at least until the end of the season.
Things haven’t been great for the Black Cats lately, with the interim manager having three wins, three draws and eight defeats in the Championship. Now since there hasn’t been the risk of relegation, it’s time to look forward and start planning for the 2024/25 season.
Whether that will involve Will Still remains to be seen.