Speaking about his dismissal from Sunderland, Tony Mowbray says he has no resentment towards the club.
Tony Mowbray stated that he doesn’t hold it against Sunderland and that he “understands” why the team fired him.
In December, Mowbray was let go from his position at Sunderland after 14 months, ending a highly entertaining run for the fans.
Not all of his followers agreed with the decision to fire him, and even fewer agreed when Michael Beale took his place.
Mowbray, though, is philosophical about it.
“For whatever reason, the club wanted to change. I accepted it,” Mowbray said.
“The ownership model is what it is. They wanted to make brave decisions. It is football, I understand it; Sunderland is a great club and the people of Sunderland are like me: honest, hard-working, grafters.”
In many ways, Mowbray owes his continued work in football to Sunderland. He was ready to retire after leaving Blackburn having grown disenfranchised with working away from home.
The Sunderland job allowed him to merge both his professional and personal lives, though, and that was important in re-energising him.
“Sunderland was the team down the road, and some Middlesbrough fans, including my 14-year-old son, found it difficult that I could [join them],” he explained.
My ability to balance work and life was crucial. Two and a half hours separated me from my home at Blackburn, where I spent five years watching my children grow up twice a week.
“As soon as the job in Sunderland was offered, I called; I could live at home, spend every evening with my family, eat with them, and sometimes even drive kids to school. The local derby’s rivalry was no longer present.”
