Sunderland appointed Phil Parkinson as their new manager this morning, following the departure of Jack Ross last week. His first game will come against Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday, who currently sit second in League One.
Parkinson will be tasked with getting Sunderland promoted this season. The appointment is a sensible one, when you consider Parkinson has achieved three promotions with three different clubs, Colchester United, Bradford City and Bolton Wanderers.
The Sunderland fans are hugely expectant, so the 51-year-old will have to hit the ground running and get some positive results, quickly. Parkinson is an experienced individual, and will be confident he can deliver promotion, when looking at the squad of players he has to work with.
Let's look at a few players that will be thriving for a chance under the new manager...
Grant Leadbitter
However, the midfielder fell out of favour under Jack Ross and has started just one of their last five league games. The 33-year-old offers leadership and quality in central midfield, and will be hoping to be a key part of Parkinson’s plans.
Duncan Watmore
Watmore burst onto the Premier League scene in 2015, terrorising defences with his pace and directness. After suffering a serious knee injury in 2017, his career went on hold.
The attacker has been plagued by a knee problem again during this campaign, but did make his first start of the season against Grimsby Town last week, a match in which he scored his first goal of the season.
Parkinson likes a direct, quick winger and Watmore is exactly that. He’s a player that could be very effective in League One, if he can build confidence and stay fit.
Hopefully a new manager can give him that boost he needs, and Watmore can knuckle down and help Sunderland to try and get promoted.
Will Grigg
The Northern Irish striker has scored 99 League One goals, and helped three sides to get promoted out of the league, Brentford, Milton Keynes Dons and on two occasions at Wigan Athletic.
Grigg would likely walk into every other League One side, and I’m sure Parkinson will be excited at the prospect of working with him.
Building the team around Grigg will be a priority for Parkinson. That could be the difference between winning automatic promotion, or having to settle for play-offs. Grigg has hit the 20 goal mark in two previous seasons, therefore he’s a proven goalscorer at this level.
Things haven’t quite worked out on Wearside yet, but perhaps this will spark a run of goals for Grigg.