Tony Mowbray insists a left-field report linking Sunderland with a new head coach has not 'unnerved' him - and he says he wants to stay as head coach on Wearside beyond the summer. The Black Cats boss also laughed off a suggestion made this week that he might be looking to retire, with the 59-year-old saying he is 'energised' at the prospect of continuing to work with this talented young squad.
A tweet from respected journalist Fabrizio Romano earlier in the week claimed that Italian coach Francesco Farioli was 'on top of [Sunderland's] list' to take charge for next season, and that the 34-year-old has been approached by clubs in Italy, Portugal, England, and Turkey, have approached him since he left his most recent Turkish club Alanyaspor. That sent the rumour mill on Wearside into overdrive, but the idea that Sunderland would make a change defies all logic given that Mowbray is under contract for another year and his team continues to surpass all expectations by challenging for a play-off place in its first year back in the Championship, while playing an attractive brand of attacking football.
Mowbray accepts that if the club wanted to make a change, that call could be made by sporting director Kristjaan Speakman regardless of what the team achieves this season, but for his part he wants to stay on. Asked about the report, Mowbray said today: "As you would expect, I probably had 50 people send me the same article.
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"I'm not sure where it comes from. What I do know about professional clubs - and it's maybe highlighted at Chelsea or at Tottenham at the moment - is that if they don't have succession plans, they can get ridiculed somewhere along the line.
"It didn't really unnerve me. I've been in football a long, long, time and I sit here pretty relaxed about how I manage football clubs and what we can do.
"I haven't really had conversations about that situation, but I was obviously made aware of it by people who do go on social media and who do follow things. It's not my domain. It hasn't unnerved me, to be honest.
"I'm really energised, I really enjoy working with these players and that's why I'd like to finish the season strongly, then whatever the summer brings - if the club has other ideas - that's their prerogative, it's fine. The most difficult thing is that the staff here, a lot of whom are on social media, will have come in and read those things.
"None of them mentioned it to me, but without them knowing somebody had sent it to me so it was almost awkward, really. I would love to stay here, but that's not my decision, ultimately."
As for the idea that Mowbray might be looking to retire, he smiled: "I also heard that someone had written that I was thinking of retiring - it makes me laugh, really. I get up before 6am every morning, I love that drive down the A19 to come here because I know I'm working with some amazing young footballers who want to get better.
"And the people I meet in this city, they are all really positive. We've had some bad days where results haven't gone our way, and yet this fanbase has been really supportive of the team.
"It [the report] is a strange scenario, but it's not in my control - I'm probably not the person you should be asking the question to."
Sunderland are currently sixth in the table with two games to play, and they can take another step towards securing a play-off spot on Saturday when Watford visit the Stadium of Light.
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