“Tarnished my image” – Manager shares anger over Sunderland job claims, insists it was made up

Reims manager Will Still has hit out at some of the reports linking him to Sunderland, insisting some were made up and harmed his reputation.

The Reims boss has been speaking to Gazete van Antwerpen after a difficult fortnight or so that had seen him consistently linked with a move to the Stadium of Light.

Not long after Sunderland decided to sack Tony Mowbray two weeks ago, Still was instilled as one of the favourites to replace him having earned himself a glowing reputation for his work with Reims in France since taking charge in October 2022.

This season he has them 8^th in the Ligue 1 table and just two points outside the top five after leading them to an 11^th placed finish last season.

He could be considered something of a coup for Sunderland then and reports in France made it clear he was keen on the move, and even potentially working behind the scenes to make it happen.

That didn’t go down well with Reims fans, of course, who reacted to such rumours very negatively, pretty much labelling Still as a traitor while the rumours of a move to the Stadium of Light swirled.

Ultimately Stil remained where he was, with Sunderland instead hiring Michael Beale as their new manager in a surprise appointment. Now Still is having his say on the matter and insists all the criticism thrown at his is mis-placed.

“I don’t know which French-language newspaper made up that story, but it certainly tarnished my image,” he said.

“Now I know journalists can make or break you. The article was also quickly adopted in England. Suddenly I was in all the tabloids. Everyone thought I had offered myself to Sunderland. I wasn’t being honest, so to speak. And not to be trusted. But I would never offer myself to another club.

“I’m not wired like that. I have too much respect for the people I work with for that. It’s a shame the story was blown up so much.

“I didn’t even know that clause (allowing him to leave for €5m) was in my contract until last week. Perhaps that is why Sunderland put some pressure on certain media? Was it an attempt to get me out of here for free? I don’t know.

“I’m not interested in it either. But it does frustrate me. Because now it seems like I’ve become arrogant. Or started floating (in the clouds). But that is absolutely not the case. I am still the same Will as I was at Lierse or Beerschot.”