After an underwhelming start to the 2019/20 campaign, Sunderland announced yesterday that they had terminated the contract of manager Jack Ross.

The Black Cats sit sixth in League One but have slipped eight points behind league leaders Ipswich Town and, in truth, have not played like a team that was tipped for automatic promotion–as they were.

Ross joined the club last May and nearly led them to promotion last season but was denied by a 95th-minute Charlton Athletic winner in the play-off final.

Assistant manager James Fowler has stepped up to take charge of the first team temporarily and led them to a 3-2 win over Grimsby Town in the EFL Trophy last night.

The North East club have revealed their search for a new manager starts today and rumours continue to fly about who that might be.

With that in mind, we have earmarked three players who may benefit from the Scotsman’s departure.

Will Grigg

The 28-year-old joined in January as Josh Maja’s replacement but has struggled to find his feet at the Stadium of Light–scoring just seven goals in 35 appearances.

The Northern Irishman has been in and out of the starting XI under Ross and a fresh start under a new manager could be just what he needs to rediscover his goalscoring form.

Grigg has 100 goals to his name in League One and has scored 19 or more in a season on four separate occasions–so the quality is certainly there.

He added the winner in last night’s 3-2 win against Grimsby, just his second goal of the season, so he looks like he may be on his way.

Lee Burge

Fellow Scot Jon McLaughlin has been a mainstay in the Sunderland side under Ross, even with the Black Cats failing to keep a clean sheet in the league this season.

Burge is the only Sunderland goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet this season and has played an important role in the Black Cats’ Carabao Cup run, which has included multiple Premier League scalps.

Despite calls from fans and questionable performances from McLaughlin, the 26-year-old is yet to start in League One–that may change now Ross has left.

Bali Mumba

The 18-year-old midfielder may have felt that he would see some first-team action after Ross decided not to send him out on loan in the summer but that has not been the case.

Mumba is highly-rated at the club and made his first senior appearance of the season last night against Grimsby–just hours after Ross was sacked.

That bodes really well for the teenager who will also have the chance to impress the new manager when they arrive.

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