標籤: quit

Former Sunderland coach Mark McCormick has explained why he left the club just one year into his three-year contract at the Stadium of Light.

Kicker today had an interview with the former Sunderland coach. He explains why he left North East prematurely.

McCormick served as Head of Coach Development at Sunderland between 2017 and 2018. He was appointed in September that year to lead the development of coaches within the Black Cats academy service.

He joined Australian club Northern Tigers FC, where he was first team manager. However, his time at Sunderland would only last for a year.

Instead, he found himself in the midst of one of the most turbulent periods in Sunderland’s history. That season saw a high turnover of first-team managers, including Simon Grayson and Chris Coleman, which ultimately led to their relegation to League One.

All of this was detailed in full during the first season of the Netflix drama Sunderland ‘Til I Die. This sometimes featured the Academy’s work at the Stadium of Light, although McCormick was not personally involved.

His departure was a piece of chaos but ultimately made sense to him. Since his exit, he has established a significant coaching career in Austria, progressing from youth development to several high-level support management roles in the Austrian Bundesliga and Second League.

Why was Sunderland a mixed bag?

McCormick is now the assistant manager at SKN St. Pölten, where he earned his UEFA Pro License at the end of November 2025.

That was the main focus of his interview with Kicker, but he still couldn’t resist asking about Sunderland.

“The work at Sunderland was fantastic,” He said.

“The whole city is behind this working-class club. In the Championship, we would usually have 40,000 spectators. But it was complete chaos, as anyone can see in the documentary Sunderland ‘Till I Die.

“That’s why I left after a year, even though I had a three-year contract. And I also wanted to get back on the field myself and not just watch other people all the time. Thankfully, Cem (Sekarlioglu) took me back to Austria Vienna.”

In a new interview, Athletics All-Star Brent Rucker fueled rumors that a salary cap for players will be a non-starter in the new collective bargaining agreement.

Right now, MLB players are preparing for the 2026 MLB season in either Florida or Arizona. While goals and aspirations for the new season are at the forefront of their minds, there is something dark looming in the distance. Negotiations over the next CBA between the league and the MLB Players Association.

Due to the out-of-control spending by the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets and other big-market teams over the past few years, the buzz around the sport is that many owners are willing to finally bring a hard salary cap to MLB. It’s similar to some other major leagues like the NFL, NHL and NBA or something similar.

However, it still has to make its way to MLB as the MLBPA has proven time and again that they are the strongest players union in the game. Whenever the owners push for a major change, the players push back even harder, and they have yet to break even.

Brent Rucker on hard cap: We will not tolerate it being implemented

And when it comes to the hard cap, the Athletics’ two-time All-Star Brent Rucker is the latest MLB star to make it clear that the idea is a complete non-starter for players.

“The salary cap is designed to suppress wages so owners can make more money. That’s enough. That’s the goal behind them. They’re not trying to accomplish anything else. It’s not good for the players, it’s not good for the league, it’s not good for competitive balance or equity.”

“We will not tolerate it being implemented into our game,” Rucker said when asked about the hard cap during an event on Wednesday. foul zone podcast.

It certainly seems like both sides are ready to take a deeper look at the hard cap issue. If they’re both adamant, it looks like there’ll be another work stoppage like 1994 – coming early next year.

After earning a journalism degree in 2017, Jason Burgos worked as a contributor to several sites, including MMA Sacca… More about Jason Burgos