In December, Sunderland were keen on appointing Will Still as their manager and he was apparently tempted by the chance. At the start of that month, the Black Cats parted ways with Tony Mowbray and appointed Michael Beale as his successor on December 18th.
Sunderland parted ways with Beale in February and appointed Mike Dodds as interim manager until the end of last season.
Still was then at Stade de Reims when Sunderland tried to bring him to the Stadium of Light. The French club had ruled out his exit last year, before parting ways with him in May.
The Belgian returned to management when RC Lens appointed him as their new manager in June. Sunderland were again credited with an interest in him by the French press.
L’Equipe interviewed Still and informed him they were expecting him to be in England, likely at Sunderland, after leaving Stade de Reims. He ended up at Lens and the Championship side appointed Régis Le Bris as their new manager in June.
“Everyone was sending me there [England], but in my head, nothing was decided. I always said that one day I would like to go there, because I am English, I have a house there, my partner lives there, but I never said when,” he said.
“The sporting project is much more important, and I want to think selfishly about my career. I know Ligue 1, what it can bring me, what a club like Lens can mean for my development.
“There were negotiations with other clubs, but [Lens] president [Joseph Oughourlian] called me and I had always said that if there was a team here that I would never refuse, it was Lens. Three days later, I had an agreement with them. It was the right club, at the right time.
“No way [wanting to leave Ligue 1]. I’ve never had any problems with anyone. I know what happened, why I left, but that’s it. I don’t blame France or the journalists. The best decision was made.”
Still has also heaped praise on the supporters of his current club.
“Bollaert [Stade Bollaert-Delelis]. It is incomparable. When I was at Reims, we used to put loudspeakers in training to create noise and get the players used to the atmosphere of Lens,” Still explained.
“This summer, from the friendlies against Leverkusen and Leicester, they impressed me. It’s madness, friendlies are sold out, normally it doesn’t exist. It’s even better than I imagined, by far. You feel like you’re with them, you feel the energy they create.”
Again, as has seemed the case before, this looks like Will Still retrospectively framing things to suit the image of Will Still.
