Chris Coleman stepped on to the stage, smiled at the television cameras and announced a manifesto for change centred on humility, honesty and hope.
Sunderland’s ninth manager in six years was unveiled at the Academy of Light, the club’s training ground, on Monday morning and looked genuinely thrilled to be confronted with the challenge of lifting his new team off the bottom of the Championship.
To Coleman’s left sat Martin Bain, the club’s chief executive. If Bain seemed a little washed out in the wake of a draining few months, the former Wales manager appeared radiant, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. Many people are puzzled at the 47-year-old’s decision to swap a Wales side he led to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 for a club facing a second successive relegation but it was not one over which Coleman agonised.
“You can go through your career without ever managing a big club and this is a huge club,” Coleman said. “The temptation to be a part of that and experience that and try to make a difference here was just too big for me.
“I’ve got the opportunity to manage a big football club, a seriously big football club and I wasn’t going to turn that down. I know all the challenges here, I’m under no illusions. But I am super-excited. I can’t tell you how excited I am. I always wondered whether I’d get an opportunity to manage a big club and I’ve got it now.”
Certain of his predecessors, most notably David Moyes, acted as if they were doing Sunderland a favour simply by being there but Coleman sees things very differently. “There’s not many Premier League clubs as big as Sunderland, with their fanbase and stadium and facilities,” he said. “Not many Premier League clubs have all this. I’m absolutely thrilled to be here.”
There is much to be done. He is anxious to find a home in the north-east for his wife and two small children but, more immediately, there is Tuesday night’s tough trip to Aston Villa to navigate and uncomfortable home truths to be delivered in the dressing room.
Simon Grayson’s successor made it plain he has been warned that his new squad is in desperate need of pulling its collective socks up. “The biggest word in football, and it’s a dirty word – no one likes to use it – is accountability,” Coleman said. “Every player on a contract is accountable for what happens to this club. Everyone has roles and responsibilities.
“You can sometimes look at someone and give them the benefit of the doubt but there are other things you look at and say: ‘That’s not acceptable.’ There’s still time to improve but this club is standing on the edge of a cliff and we need to move to safe ground. We need to get our preparation right and we need to be professional.”
All the indications are that he intends to change a somewhat laissez-faire environment to a “no excuses” culture. “This is not a place to be if you haven’t got heart,” he said. “If you haven’t got heart and courage then you shouldn’t be at this club. If players are pretending to give their best I can’t handle it.
“I won’t tolerate players not giving everything they’ve got. This is a great club and we have the duty of taking it forward.”
Too many past managers have merely lived in the region part-time, retaining their main home elsewhere while spending a few days a week on Wearside. Coleman refuses to rank among them. “I’m fully committed to this area. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have moved my family up here.”
Although Ellis Short, the Sunderland owner, is no longer trying to sell up and is apparently reinvigorated by the Welshman’s installation, the club’s debts dictate that Coleman’s scope for manoeuvre in the January transfer market will be limited.
“Maybe we’ll generate some cash ourselves,” Coleman said. “I’ve not been handed a huge transfer kitty. I’m not going into January with millions to spend so we need to improve the players we have. We have to build a new culture here.”
