What's next for Sunderland's troubled head coach search and why it's taking so long explained

Sunderland's lengthy search took another twist on Wednesday, so what's going on and what happens next? Here we try to pick through the key questions and plot out what the way forward might be...

What's actually happened?

Sunderland though they were on the brink of appointing Will Still to the vacancy after extensive negotiations just over a fortnight ago, but the Belgian coach instead opted to pursue the vacancy at Ligue 1 side RC Lens. That led to Sunderland returning to their initial shortlist last week, holding further talks before a statement released by Kyril Louis-Dreyfus on Friday evening said that a decision was 'hopefully imminent' and that the process was now in its 'final stages'.

There were believed to be around four or five candidates in the running at that stage, though AZ Alkmaar Pascal Jansen would by the start of this week be ruled out. Of those remaining in the race, Liam Rosenior had emerged as the overwhelming favourite with the bookmakers and was being heavily touted as the frontrunner for the vacancy. Initial talks were held last week and Rosenior was expected to be one of those holding further talks in the early stages of this week, ahead of Sunderland making a final decision.

It now appears possible and indeed likely that those talks will not happen. While he has not been ruled out of the running entirely in the way that Still and Jansen eventually were, there is now an acceptance that he is unlikely to be named the next head coach. Rosenior is an early contender for the vacancy at Burnley and so is in no rush to make a decision, and clearly has some reservations about the Sunderland role. With the search now well over 100 days old and fan frustration rising, time is a luxury that Sunderland no longer have.

So what's next?

Sunderland have been holding talks with candidates in the early stages of this week, and so are currently focusing their attentions on those as they look to finally land Michael Beale's permanent successor.

QPR boss Marti Cifuentes is known to have admirers at the club, but the fact that he is in work clearly complicates that search. He would also command a significant compensation fee and while supporters have previously been told that there is a willingness to pay for the right candidate, it's something that has never happened under the current ownership group. Cifuentes and Rosenior were not the only contenders at the start of the week, and so it is fair to surmise there is still at least one contender in the race whose name has not yet been made publicly known. As such, Sunderland could yet make a breakthrough and appoint just about within Louis-Dreyfus' ‘imminent’ timeframe, but you can forgive fans who have become hugely weary of the process and are hugely doubtful. The shortlist is undoubtedly narrowing, and that means the pressure is rising.

Why are Sunderland finding it so difficult to make an appointment?

Sunderland clearly invested a huge amount of time in pursuing Still, and his decision to go to RC Lens clearly came as a major setback. The Black Cats felt they hay convinced Still of the project, and that it was the greater resources of a top-half Ligue 1 club and the huge lure of European football that ultimately proved vital.

The ongoing search has made clear, however, that there reservations over the club's structure. It is known that while any new head coach may be able to bring one member of staff with them, they will also be expected to work with the ongoing staff. Sunderland's head coach also has a fairly limited role in recruitment, with a huge amount of power vested in sporting director Kristjaan Speakman. Long-held fears for supporters that such limitations may hinder the club from landing the candidate of the calibre and stature they need to manage a promotion push at a club of this size look at this stage as if they have been borne out in the least two searches. Time is ticking to prove that is not the case.

What impact is all of this going to have on Sunderland's prospects moving forward?

Sunderland's view was that they could take their time with this appointment as realistically, we were not at that point where it was going to have a significant impact on their prospects for next season. That was the case for a while, but we are now reaching the point where it's harder to make that argument. Time is running out for the new head coach to be in place to have a meaningful say on pre-season preparations, and with the transfer window opening on Friday, the early stages of Sunderland's recruitment plans will now have happened without the input of the person who will pick the team. The uncertainty is also beginning to have a visible impact on the squad, with Dan Neil turning down an initial contract offer and Chris Rigg another known to be weighing up his future as he nears the point at which he can sign a professional contract. Both of those situations can still be sorted but it's indicative of the way the club looks to be drifting from the outside.

The impasse is also having a hugely damaging impact on supporter morale, and is seeing the belief and trust in the current regime ebb away further. Few positive decisions have been made since the end of last season with regards to on-pitch progress, and particularly since the now disastrous decision to part company with Tony Mowbray last December. The brutal final months of the campaign were tolerated to a large degree in the hope that it would give Sunderland the time and space they needed to act decisively at the end of the campaign, but over five weeks from a shambolic defeat to Sheffield Wednesday there has still been no meaningful breakthrough. The scrutiny on Louis-Dreyfus and Speakman in particular is set to intensify significantly if the situation does not change in the coming days, and even a new appointment will still leave questions marks over the much-vaunted succession planning.