Kevin Ball says everything is in place at Sunderland for a good pre-season
Wednesday 21 June 2017 11:18, UK
Sunderland stalwart Kevin Ball says the sooner the club can hire a new manager the better their prospects for the 2017/18 season.
But Ball says the structure is in place to ensure things run smoothly at the Stadium of Light in the meantime.
Ball appeared more than 300 times for Sunderland during his playing days and he is now senior professional development coach at the club.
The Black Cats find themselves in the Championship for the 2017/18 season after a disappointing end to their Premier League tenure.
Manager David Moyes subsequently departed and, to add to the current uncertainty, owner Ellis Short is on the verge of selling the club.
But Ball told Sky Sports News HQ: "We'd all love to be in the Premier League but we need to start afresh, move forward and have a right go at moving out of the Championship this year.
"In an ideal world, you would want things to be sorted as soon as possible. Going into pre-season, it would be nice to have a new manager at the helm.
"If new owners come in, then so be it. And it would be nice to get that sorted out.
"If it isn't the case straight away, we have fantastic staff at the club who will make sure that the players who are here get as fit as they can.
"Pre-season has been planned and everything is in place.
"I know [chief executive] Martin Bain will be working very hard to get a manager in as soon as possible. It would be nice to have him there."
Sunderland's first Championship game will be live on Sky Sports when they play host to Derby on August 4.
Ball is excited and said: "I think it is a fantastic opening game.
"A home game on a Friday night to kick off the season, I think there will be a full house. I think it will be a fantastic atmosphere."
