Monday, June 17th, will mark the beginning of the 17th week of Sunderland's search for a new head coach.
While nobody expected the process to be swift, equally, nobody of a red and white contingent could have envisaged it would take this long.
At the time of writing, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus' statement is now nine days old. Hope of an imminent appointment now seems quite the opposite and supporters are right to be irritated.
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The head coach furore has consumed the club. Caught up in the mire, you'd be forgiven for missing the opening of the Championship transfer window and Sunderland are yet to dip their toe into the water.
At the same stage last season, the Black Cats had already completed the signings of Jobe Bellingham and Nectar Triantis, and would sign Luis Hemir Semedo on June 18 with Jenson Seelt following suit on June 23.
This season - nothing.
Of course, the lack of incomings, and outgoings for that matter, will not surprise anyone given the uncertainty surrounding the search for a new head coach.
With each passing day, the claims to have learnt from last season's mistakes appears more frivolous.
To put things into context, players return for pre-season in a fortnight. A head coach MUST be appointed before then if the club want to avoid further scrutiny.
The fact that it has even reached this stage is difficult to comprehend, especially given the warning from interim boss Mike Dodds as the 2023/24 Championship campaign petered out.
“I’ve said previously I do feel we need to recruit a couple more players, not in terms of age," he told reporters prior to the end of the recent campaign. "When we talk about experience I’m talking about a couple more players who have a couple of hundred league games under their belt at this level or in and around this level.
"So I do feel the group need that and we as a club probably need a little bit more depth. So in terms of the direction I understand why it would probably feel a little bit murky at the moment.
“If the club recruit two, three, four players and there’s an identity with those players I think the fans will be onboard and it will very quickly re-navigate. Obviously the appointment of the head coach is going to be a marker.
“That will speak for itself, much like the recruitment of players will speak for itself. I’m not going to speak for other people but I don’t think it needs any kind of statement, as such, but actions speak louder than words. That’s the old phrase, isn’t it? Who’s the new head coach going to be? It’s him. Who are we recruiting in the summer? And your first two or three signings give you a marker.”
Sure, there remains plenty of time in the transfer market, but for all Mike Dodds' flaws and disappointing results on his watch, it's clear, he understood the sentiment among the fanbase. He understood the power of the supporters.
Results were poor, but he was, in his own words, authentic to himself. Given the way the current recruitment process has gone, at this stage, you wouldn't rule out the interim head coach continuing his stint in the Black Cats dugout.
After all, there's not much left on the Sunderland bingo card.
READ MORE: Assessing Sunderland's head coach search and what next
Marti Cifuentes remains on the Black Cats' managerial shortlist, but with uncertainty over whether of not they'd pay the compensation fee to lure him to the Stadium of Light, it begs further questions.
Can the current ownership afford to back up their talk of ambition and promotion to the Premier League?
If they were to make an approach, paying a compensation fee to QPR, it would certainly strengthen their claims. If not, why have they pursued that avenue in the first place?
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Elsewhere, Liam Rosenior ruled himself out of the running at the Stadium of Light. The former Hull City boss is highly thought of at Burnley and is holding out for an offer from Turf Moor.
Rene Maric is still yet to commit his future to Bayern Munich, with Vincent Kompany keen on adding him to his first-team staff.
At this stage, worryingly, it remains all speculation.
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