Sunderland currently sit rock bottom of the Sky Bet Championship table.

The Mackems were defeated 1-0 by local rivals Middesbrough on Sunday, and it now leaves them with just ten points from 16 league games.

Without a manager, it's desperate times at the Stadium of Light.

Who should Sunderland appoint to bring back the good times?

We take a look...

Adam Simeoni

Karanka, but why on earth would he go there?

The Spanish boss is good enough to keep the Black Cats up, but the job is a poisoned chalice.

Sunderland will struggle to secure their top managerial targets in the next few weeks.

George Dagless

I'd get after Harry Redknapp.

Sunderland have got a real problem with confidence, not talent, and so you need a manager who is an expert in making players feel better about themselves.

Redknapp knows exactly how to do that and I think he'd guide them to survival pretty easily in the Championship if he came in.

What happens after that is anyone's guess.

Alfie Burns

What a tough call for Sunderland.

Personally, I’d go for Paul Lambert – A manager that knows the Championship, and might be able to bring some confidence to the playing squad at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland appear to be a sinking ship, and the club’s next appointment must be a manager they believe could guide them back out of League One, if they eventually suffer relegation from the Championship.

I believe Lambert could be the right man.

Chris Gallagher

If they could convince him, Aitor Karanka all day.

It seems a long shot given the state of the club, but he'd organise and get the best out of this squad. The favourites with the bookies; John O'Shea, Peter Reid, Phil Brown and Ally McCoist are completely uninspiring and should worry fans.

If they can't convince Karanka they should look down the leagues and go for a young and hungry manager. At the minute, the standout candidate would be Paul Hurst at Shrewsbury.