It has been confirmed that former Sunderland manager Peter Reid will not be returning to the club as Sam Allardyce's assistant.
Reid rejected
It is reported that the club are expected to make an imminent announcement as to who the number two at the Stadium of Light would be, with several names touted for the role in recent days and Reid was one of them. Both coaches are good friends with Reid having Allardyce on his own backroom staff during his successful seven-year tenure on Wearside. However it seems that Reid is not within contention for the role.
Strong links
Two names that have been strongly linked with the position are Southend's Phil Brown and Blackpool's Neil McDonald, who have both worked with Allardyce previously. It has been insisted by Southend that no contact has been made between the two clubs but it seems that McDonald could return to his role as Allardyce's number two if he was to leave the Seaside club.
Allardyce gets to work
The former Bolton, Newcastle, Blackburn and West Ham manager was straight to work after his reveal on Monday as he attended the Under-21's played their international cup clash with German counterpart Borussia Monchengladbach.
The 60-year-old was initially wary of taking the role saying at his reveal that it is a "big challenge" and was quick to point out that despite the season only been eight games old Allardyce believes that they are "in trouble".
Despite the odds been against his side he is up for the challenge saying that the fight for survival is in his "blood" and says that the challenge of beating the drop is "almost an addiction".
Sunderland will be hope that an assistant will be in place in time for when the Black Cats travel to take on West Brom on Saturday, October 16 with kick-off at 3PM BST.