Matty Hewitt and Dom Shaw sat down for this morning's We Are Sunderland briefing, on Wednesday, 21 February to discuss the fallout of Michael Beale's departure.

The ex-Black Cats boss broke his silence with a statement via the League Manager's association and also spoke to We Are Sunderland to hit back at claims "wide of the mark."

The two writers take a look back at Beale's 63-day tenure, with Mike Dodds taking over the reins at the club for the second time this season.

The interim-head coach will take charge of first-team duties until the end of the end of the season, with Matty and Dom questioning whether the club should have done this prior to Beale's appointment.

After the latest round of Championship fixtures, Sunderland are now seven points adrift of Hull City in the final play-off berth.

Before leaving the club, Beale spoke about his side needing a run to finish in that coveted top-six, and that seems more evident that ever.

You can listen to what Matty and Dom had to say in the player below, on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from.