When Dick Advocaat took a call from a Dutch journalist on Monday night the reporter asked if he was at the Stadium of Light. “No, I’m in a dark hotel room,” replied Sunderland’s new head coach, revealing a sense of humour he could do with retaining over the coming weeks.
After being confirmed as Gus Poyet’s interim successor before taking training for the first time on Monday morning, Advocaat’s not insignificant task is to switch the lights on at a club teetering on the brink of relegation. He has a nine-game contract to keep Sunderland in the Premier League but, despite a wealth of worldwide managerial experience, this represents something of a novel challenge for the 67-year-old.
In the past 20 years Advocaat has been involved in only one relegation skirmish and it concluded with him leaving Borussia Mönchengladbach a month before the end of the 2004-05 season, with the German side one point above the drop zone.
That is precisely the position he finds Sunderland in but his supporters point to the domestic titles he has won in the Netherlands, Scotland and Russia as well as the World Cup quarter-final and European Championship semi-final he reached with Holland.
While Sunderland’s board hope a coach fluent in English will reinvigorate the club in much the same way Guus Hiddink revived Chelsea during a brief caretaker stint in 2009, Advocaat is a very different animal from his charming compatriot. “There’s a Dutch saying that ‘he sees an enemy behind every tree,’” says Suleyman Ozturk a journalist from Voetbal International. “In private he’s a very nice man with a very good sense of humour but, publicly, he can be guarded.”
This caution extends on to the pitch. “Advocaat’s not a great adventurer, he’s more calculating,” Ozturk says. “Sunderland fans are unlikely to see wing-backs. He’s very strict but he’s got an aura about him.”
The Dutch football journalist Michiel Jongsma regards Advocaat’s love of order as precisely what Sunderland require after Poyet’s volatility. “He’s very impressive,” he says. “He’s quite a conservative man of discipline who likes structure and after Poyet’s unpredictability that should be welcome. He’s also good at identifying the strengths of individual players.”
If there is a concern that the last thing a side paralysed by Poyet’s tactical negativity need is a coach inclined to play with the handbrake on, Advocaat’s Zenit St Petersburg did produce some fabulous football en route to winning the 2008 Uefa Cup. With the posting so short term, his infamous reluctance to trust young players is hardly relevant.
“Advocaat’s a pragmatist, not an idealist, he’s a sensible man and a sensible manager; I think he’ll play 4-4-2 or maybe 4-5-1 at Sunderland,” Jongsma says. “He’s had some tough moments but almost all the clubs he’s worked for have fond memories of him. When he was younger he could be a bit of a hard man but, although respect is still very important to him, he’s mellowed with age. He’ll see Sunderland as an adventure to be enjoyed.” Even so, Sunderland players should probably refrain from making jokes about the hair transplant Advocaat famously underwent in the 1990s.
One man well qualified to judge the partnership is Bolo Zenden, the former Sunderland and Holland midfielder. “Advocaat can convince the players to give everything,” Zenden says. “He’s a coach who will listen to the players. He can be tough, though – and that’s something Sunderland’s players need.”
If a sometimes confrontational character who once had a dramatic falling out with Ruud Gullit has toned down his act, Advocaat retains an edge – especially when the name Louis van Gaal is involved. “If you’ve spent £200m you should make sure you compete for the top two,” he informed Dutch TV viewers in a scathing deconstruction of Manchester United’s manager. “I don’t think it’s working for him.”
Things failed to proceed to plan for Advocaat during a traumatic four-month culture shock with Serbia last year. “I never faced such a difficult situation in my entire career,” he said after departing in November with a single point from three European Championship qualifiers and having watched askance from his technical area as a match between Serbia and Albania in Belgrade was abandoned as anarchy unfolded in the wake of an Albanian flag being flown above the stadium by a drone.
“He made a mistake with Serbia,” Ozturk says, “but I think he’ll put it right at Sunderland.”
What awaits Dick Advocaat in his in-tray
1 Unlock a creative spark
Sunderland say they are “reviewing” Adam Johnson’s club suspension after his police bail was extended until late April. Johnson has been exiled following his arrest on suspicion of sexual activity with an underage girl but Advocaat wants the winger, the team’s principal creator, back in the fold.
2 Keep Lee Cattermole fit and suspension-free
Without Cattermole bossing midfield the team invariably struggle but he is both yellow card and injury prone. Gus Poyet’s successor needs to keep him on the pitch.
3 Find a way to get Jermain Defoe scoring
Defoe craves both an attacking partner and crosses to feed off. Advocaat must supply him with both. Maybe Patrick van Aanholt could be turned into a left-winger and Connor Wickham relocated from the left.
4 Raise the tempo
Too often under Poyet Sunderland played at exhibition pace and seemed scared to press opponents. Advocaat must ask them to force the tempo and press higher up the pitch.
5 Persuade John O’Shea and Wes Brown to roll back the years
Sunderland’s centre-halves are getting on and hardly the quickest these days but O’Shea and Brown retain sufficient defensive intelligence to avert relegation. Advocaat must tap into it while protecting their vulnerabilities.
