Sunderland sacked Jack Ross one year ago today and he’s been reflecting on his time at our once great club…
ONE YEAR ON…
"I hadn't realised it was a year, until someone mentioned it the other day. I was fortunate to get an opportunity so quickly. You never know when you'll get a job given the nature of this profession. so to get back in so quickly, and at such a great club and big club, was fortunate. Lockdown was pretty good for me in some ways – because it was so quick (the return to management) and the Sunderland job was so tiring, and I was into a situation where we had to stabilise things here, I think lockdown allowed me a bit of time to reflect that I hadn't had in between the jobs. When we came back post lockdown I felt ready to go again. I'm fortunate I've had very good jobs and this is another one."
ANY REGRETS?
"Every management job I've had, I've learned and reflected," he added. "I reflect every day on what I do. I feel as if I've learned and improved and one thing the Sunderland job did do was make me feel I can deal with the pressure and scrutiny as manager of a very big club. I keep telling people here (in Edinburgh) what a big club it is and I think the Netflix programme has helped people understand that, because it's massive and the scrutiny is huge. So from that point of view it's helped me to grow again as a manager. I've said this countless times, I've got absolutely no regrets at taking the opportunity and loved all of it."
DID HIS TACTICS FAIL HIM AT SAFC?
"I think you always question if you made the right choices at the right times, but that's always easy in hindsight. I've always been quite thorough in my thought process, and why I came to certain decisions and my management record shows I get that right more than I don't. I've done a load of management presentations during lockdown and I've spoken about fine margins and key moments, and that's the same in any job. I certainly had a couple of those at Sunderland. Two occasions that could have been outstanding, and a different legacy. But it happens. I learned a lot, and a lot of good things and positive things, and it stood me in good stead."
DOES HE MISS THE PLACE?
"I was really close to a lot of people at the club and it's really tough when you come away from it and you have to detach yourself a bit from it, when you were so immersed in it for a while. I would love to see the club successful simply because of how much I loved the job and how brilliant a football club it is. I still live in Northumberland and still bump into a lot of Sunderland fans - I got cakes off one on Sunday at a family market - so it has its plusses. The end of last season meant it was difficult to judge it, but I wish the club every success and would love to see them back up the leagues."
