Josh Edwards

Wed 19 February 2025 15:45, UK

Lee Johnson was sacked as Sunderland head coach halfway through their League One promotion-winning campaign.

With Sunderland now having ambitions of a Premier League return, very few will look back at the years they spent in League One during the most unsuccessful period in their history.

After back-to-back relegations, the Black Cats spent several years scrapping for promotion from England’s third tier and fell short on far too many occasions.

Several managers were sacked before Sunderland appeared to secure a gem in Lee Johnson, who won the Papa John’s Trophy before being sacked after an embarrassing 6-0 defeat away to Bolton Wanderers.

The Mackems went on to appoint Alex Neil who masterminded a play-off victory against Wycombe to secure their status back in the Championship.

Lee Johnson opens up about Sunderland ‘injustice’

Johnson had an excellent relationship with supporters early on in his tenure, but as performances and results started to get worse, it started to break down.

His over-analysis of everything started to grind the gears of Sunderland fans before fate would eventually take hold, resulting in his departure.

However, that decision hasn’t prevented Johnson from talking well about his time on Wearside, when speaking via the Business of Sport podcast (18 February).

“Sunderland, huge club, really sort of crazy passionate fan base,” said Johnson.

“I absolutely loved my time at Sunderland. I was gutted when that ended, you know, I felt it was doing well, I think third in the league when I got sacked. Won the first cup for 50 years at Wembley, had the best win ratio since 1897.

“But obviously big clubs, big demand, big pressure. I think that’s the privilege, that’s how it feels. I never once felt like I couldn’t cope, didn’t want to handle it. I loved every minute of it, but I think the media scrutiny is the bit that probably is the most difficult to manage.

“Probably one of my weaknesses is my reaction to injustice and there’s a lot of injustice in football management, so you’ve got to be able to skip over that with energy and with a spring in your step at a big club like that, but I still see Sunderland fans now. They’re all over the world at all places and I just felt like I had such good rapport with the fan base.”

Sunderland have moved on well from Lee Johnson

Now under the stewardship of Regis Le Bris, things are looking very bright for the Wearsiders who now look like a completely different team from the one that was previously competing in League One.

Several players from that promotion campaign are still at Sunderland, with the like of Luke O’Nien still playing a pivotal role in the team.

However, the progress made by those players has been nothing short of remarkable, going from a side incapable of achieving League One promotion to one that is capable of competing at the top end of the Championship.

The future is very bright for Sunderland if they can continue to progress at the speed of which they currently are.