Steve Bruce has eye on switch to Sunderland

Steve Bruce has indicated that he would be interested in discussing the managerial vacancy at Sunderland.

It is understood that the Wigan Athletic manager would consider an approach to return to his native North East as Ricky Sbragia's successor. The suggestion has been reflected in the betting markets, with the 48-year-old spending much of yesterday as favourite for the role.

That position changed after Gordon Strachan's resignation at Celtic, but as The Times has previously reported, Sunderland have no intention of appointing the Scotsman as a replacement for Sbragia, who tendered his resignation after securing the club's position in the Barclays Premier League. The same applies to Steve McClaren, the former England head coach and now at Twente.

Bruce's past affiliations with Newcastle United - he was a boyhood supporter of the club - would make him an intriguing candidate for the role at Sunderland, but having propelled Wigan to eleventh in the table on meagre resources, he is open to new possibilities. While he is not agitating to leave his present employers, the opportunities at the Stadium of Light are appealing.

Ellis Short's full takeover of Sunderland, which will be ratified formally this week, will provide the club with financial security and provide the next manager with a significant transfer kitty. Niall Quinn, the chairman, has already promised to seek a “big name” to fill the post that Sbragia left with a full season of his contract to serve. Quinn has offered Sbragia a “job for life” on Wearside.

For now, Quinn and Sunderland are focusing on internal matters. Short's replacement of the Drumaville Consortium as the club's custodian has been concentrating minds and, for the next 48 hours, that and other issues will remain at the fore. While the likes of David Moyes and Mark Hughes have admirers in the boardroom, all the directors' energies have been focused on avoiding relegation.

Aside from Roy Keane's departure in December, a prickly dressing room has been the root cause of Sunderland's problems this season and a significant overhaul of their playing staff is under way. As expected, the club confirmed yesterday that they will not be exercising a £10 million option to complete the permanent signing of Djibril Cissé from Marseilles after a largely underwhelming year's loan spell.

Cissé has scored 11 goals for Sunderland and proved popular with supporters, but the disparate characters within the club have not gelled. If Sbragia moves into the player recruitment department - he is mulling over his options - there will be attempts to beef up the scouting network and bring experienced British-based players of good character to the North East.

“There will be big changes this summer,” Dean Whitehead, the Sunderland captain, said. “That seems par for the course at this club, but we have to hope the changes are all for the good. It's a short summer this season, with the league finishing quite late. We'll enjoy the break and all come back ready to go again next season. There's never a dull moment at Sunderland, so I'm sure it's going to be emotional whatever happens.

“It is said that the second season after promotion to the Premier League can be hard and it has been for us. This place deserves better and those fans deserve better than us just staying up on the last day of the season. It will be an attractive job for someone and an exciting job, I'm sure.

“The chairman sat us down after we all came off the pitch after the game and said the manager would not be accepting the offer of a contract for next season. We have to thank Ricky for what he has done. He stood up to be counted when the club needed him and that took a lot of guts and belief. He helped us get the results that have now given the club a chance to push on again next season.”