Keith Andrews has described calls to sack Phil Parkinson as 'ridiculous'.
Sunderland have endured a poor start to the season and currently sit in 11th place in the League One table.
That means that the Black Cats are currently three points outside of the top six and a staggering nine points from their initial target of automatic promotion.
Phil Parkinson has struggled since arriving at the Stadium Of Light with some supporters calling for him to be sacked as manager, something which EFL pundit Keith Andrews has said is very early.
Andrews told Sky Sports’ EFL podcast: “Very early would be an understatement for me. I think it’s ridiculous. I can understand the fans’ frustrations who are watching it every week.
“He’s inherited a squad which in my opinion are not as good as what they were. Confidence is a big issue for the players, the expectations as we know playing for that football club are very, very high.”
Keith Andrews has also pointed at the injury to Charlie Wyke as a key factor in Sunderland's current plight.
Andrews said: "He hasn’t had a transfer window to stamp his authority on it in terms of the players he wants and Charlie Wyke has been missing.
“He coming back into the equation will make a big difference to the way they play.
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“Lets not get away from it, Phil Parkinson plays a quite direct style and in recent weeks it’s been Will Grigg, (Benji) Kimpioka has played as well.
“We know it’s disappointing, I’m not painting a picture here where it’s been really good in previous weeks but can you realistically get rid of a manager that’s three points off the play-offs having come in and is still sussing out exactly what’s what.
“I do think it would be too premature.”
The verdict
Keith Andrews' verdict on Phil Parkinson's future makes a lot of sense.
While results have been far from ideal at the Stadium Of Light, the former Bolton boss has had limited time to make his mark on a squad of players which he inherited when he took over.
Realistically, Parkinson should only be judged at the end of the season, and while things aren't looking good at the moment, things could easily turn around in the second half of the season.