Two weeks on from his dismissal, Jack Ross is still not sure how he feels, aside from “strange.” There has been more time for the children, for walking Bailey, his cocker spaniel, “the usual things people say they do,” in moments like this, but he recognises his own restlessness as he dots from chore to task, checking his emails, checking his phone. “I’m in that period of …” but his words tail off. Perhaps he means mourning. He still refers to Sunderland as “we”.



“People say, ‘Take a month off, take your head away from it and do nothing’, but I’ve not really been able to do that,” Ross says. “I don’t feel … I don’t feel relaxed. I’m not great at that anyway, not great at sitting at peace. I’ve got really close friends at the club and I chat to them. I’ve got affection for the players who are there, for the staff I left behind. I miss working. I...