Top Sunderland head coach candidate 'fully focused' on current job

The speculation linking Will Still with Sunderland just won't go away, but one of his players says nothing has changed from a Reims perspective.

Will Still is ‘fully focused’ on Reims despite constant speculation linking him with the Sunderland job, his captain has said.

Still was a big contender for the Sunderland job in December and speculation has only increased since Michael Beale was sacked this month.

He recently gave an interview with The Athletic, saying he did harbour ambitions to return ‘home’ to England and would absolutely be interested in joining an ambitious Championship club.

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However, Reims captain Yunis Abdelhamid says that, as far as the players are concerned, nothing has changed at all.

Asked by L’Equipe if the reports linking Still with Sunderland was affecting the Reims players, Abdelhamid said: “Absolutely not. For us, Will Still is not up for it.

“What is said in the newspapers can lead to misinterpretation. So we, the players, don’t talk about that.

“We are focused and I can assure you that he is also fully involved with us.”

Still certainly appears to be yearning for a move right now, and he is unlikely to be short on offers.

"I would work for a Championship team without a problem,” Still recently told The Athletic. “What I’ve now understood, I’ve now realised, is how important people are. And how important finding the right place to be is going to be for my career. And people who understand the way I work, because I’m a bit different. I’m a bit odd sometimes. If something’s s**t, I want someone to tell me it’s s**t.”

"But if there’s a Championship club that’s ambitious, that wants to work in the right way and be open and honest about things, and really try and push to get somewhere, then I would love to do that.

“Obviously, the Premier League is the ultimate dream for any manager in the world. I’m not in a rush, either. It’s not that, if I come to England, I have to go to the Premier League, or I have to go to this or that club. If something fits then it fits, and I’d be just as happy doing that.

“I’ve never really had a career plan. I’ve never set a timing on anything. I’ve just waited for opportunities to come up; see how it feels, see what it’s like.”

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