Tuesday 6 October 2015 16:54, UK
Harry Redknapp is not interested in taking over as Sunderland manager and does not think Sam Allardyce wants the job either.
Former Tottenham and West Ham boss Redknapp has been out of work since resigning as QPR manager in February, but took to Twitter on Tuesday to rule himself out.
Sky sources understand Allardyce is in contention for an approach from the Black Cats, as well as Burnley boss Sean Dyche, and the club have been inundated with offers from interested parties.
But Redknapp believes the task of keeping Sunderland in the Premier League might appear futile to the likes of his friend Allardyce and other top managers.
Redknapp said: "Is there a bus or a train that goes there in the morning? I don't think there is, so it'd be a bit of a slap for me.
"And I don't know if Sam wants it either really. He's a very confident guy, with a big ego, who has been successful wherever he's been and he'll think 'can I keep these up?' If he doesn't think he can then he won't take it."
Sky sources understand that Sunderland will take their time to appoint a successor to Dick Advocaat, who resigned as boss with the team second bottom of the Premier League on Sunday.
Sky Sports' north-east reporter Keith Downie, reporting from the Stadium of Light, said: "Sunderland have been inundated with job applications over the last 48 hours.
"There is no clear favourite to take over from Dick Advocaat but the club is undertaking a process of due diligence on potential candidates, so any appointment may be some time away.
"Ideally they'd like a manager in before the next Premier League game against West Brom after the international break, but what is key is to choose the right man to take the club forward. They won't make any rash decisions.
"While there are considerations for approaches for Dyche and Allardyce, one man who is not under consideration is Harry Redknapp."
Redknapp, who lives in a suburb of Bournemouth, says he watched Sunderland take on the newly-promoted Cherries earlier this season and thought they were "horrendous".
"They haven't recruited well. They've spent decent money but haven't brought good players in," he said.
"I saw them play at Bournemouth the other day and they were an absolute disaster. They were horrendous, I thought.
"It's a good club. The chairman's a nice man but whoever takes it has got a tough job on their hands because they're short everywhere."
