Championship

MICHAEL DODDS could make the Sunderland manager’s job his own at the end of the season.Dodds is starting his third spell as Black Cats’ caretaker but could be kept on if results are good.
Mike Dodds could be given the Sunderland job on a permanent basis if he is able to impressCredit: Alamy
The interim coach has a close relationship with director of football Kristjan Speakman, who will have a major say in the final decision.
But things haven’t got off to the start Dodds would have been hoping for with the 37-year-old failing to get a result in his first game in charge.
Sunderland were on the receiving end of a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Swansea on Saturday who sit seven league places below the Black Cats.
There are other options available to Sunderland should they look elsewhere for a permanent boss.
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Alex Neil is open to a return to Sunderland for a second spell at the helm of the club he previously walked out on.
Neil left the Stadium of Light to take the job of manager of Stoke back in 2022.
Bu the Scot is available once again after his move to the Potters turned sour.
The 42-year-old was sacked by Stoke in December of last year with the club flirting with relegation from the Championship.
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Sunderland will be turning their attention to the remainder of the season with the club letting fans know they will update them with any developments in their search for manager.
In a club statement last week, they wrote: “Our focus is now on the players and supporting Mike Dodds in the remaining games to ensure we achieve the highest possible league finish.
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“We will be updating our supporters further as and when significant developments are made.”
Sunderland face Alex Neil’s former club Norwich next in the league with the Championship’s 10th placed side looking to mount a late push for the play-off places.
Alex Neil may make a return to SunderlandCredit: Getty
Neil took charge of the Black Cats for 24 games in 2022Credit: Getty More

ILIAS CHAIR was able to start against Rotherham just a day after receiving a two-year jail sentence because Belgian prisons are currently over-crowded.The QPR midfielder was found guilty by an Antwerp court of breaking a man’s skull with a rock after he and his friends got into a row with a trucker as they made their way back from a kayaking trip in northern France in 2020.
Ilias Chair played for Queen’s Park Rangers against RotherhamCredit: PA
The reason he is allowed to play has now been revealedCredit: PA
As well as paying the victim £13,400 compensation for his injuries, he was sentenced to 12 months in prison with a further 12-month suspended sentence.
Chair is appealing the sentence.
In Britain, such jail terms are usually imposed immediately.
But the Belgian system has been hampered by a massive over-crowding problem in the country’s jails in recent years.
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Until September 2022, anybody handed less than three years jail time would not see a single day behind bars.
Last September, laws were tightened further so that those with shorter “effective” sentences were meant to spend at least some of that time locked up.
But with the over-crowding still a factor, the practicality is that those with a sentence of less than two years can ask to be punished outside of jail.
Belgians generally serve only one third of their allotted time and the last six months of that can be outside prison with electronic surveillance – effectively the entirety of any jail time under 18 months.
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The club released a statement on Friday stating it could not comment because the legal matter was still ongoing and before the end of the game were unable even to give any indication as the exact position of Chair’s case.
The Morocco international has been training and playing for the club as usual throughout the legal proceedings and manager Marti Cifuentes has insisted he will continue to select him all the time he is available.
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ILIAS CHAIR was named in QPR’s starting XI to face Rotherham just a day after being sentenced to a year in jail.The R’s star, 26, was found guilty of breaking a truck driver’s skull with a rock.
Ilias Chair was in action for QPRCredit: PA
The wide midfielder has been named in QPR’s starting Xi to face RotherhamCredit: PA
Chair, 26, remains available to playCredit: Rex
Chair, who was born in Antwerp, Belgium, was sentenced to a year in jail, with a further year suspended, in his hometown on Friday morning.
He was also ordered to pay his victim £13,400 in compensation.
Chair is appealing the verdict and is available to play while his counter is considered.
The trial heard Chair, his brother Jaber and friends got into an argument with a trucker in Bazeilles, northern France, in summer 2020.
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Jaber received a six-month suspended jail term and £700 fine for his part in the incident.
Following the news, QPR wrote in a statement: “The club are, and have been, in regular contact with Ilias Chair’s legal team regarding a charge of assault which has been made against him.
“The legal proceeding is yet to reach its conclusion. As such, the club will be making no further comment at this stage.”
The wide midfielder is among QPR’s key players, having netted the only goal in a 1-0 win over Bristol City last week.
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Going into this weekend he had made 31 appearances in the Championship this term, scoring four goals and laying on a further five assists.
Antwerp’s public prosecutor told a January hearing: ” According to many people involved, Ilias Chair lashed out at Niels T with a stone and knocked him unconscious.
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“The consequences were dramatic for Niels T. He suffered a severe skull fracture, two centimetres long, and was taken to hospital at Reims in critical condition.
“Afterwards he had to recover for a long time in a Belgian hospital, and could not do his job as a lorry driver for a long time.
“The blow was almost fatal for him, and he still feels the after-effects.”
Niels T’s lawyer said:  “My client almost lost his life, and it took surgeons to save him.  
“He was unable to work for a long time, and still suffers adverse reactions every day to having been hit with a rock.” More

LEICESTER manager Enzo Maresca suffered a bizarre injury during Friday’s Championship clash with Leeds.The Foxes took the lead through Wout Faes in the 15th minute, sparking wild celebrations from the visitors at Elland Road.
Enzo Maresca suffered a freak injury during the matchCredit: Getty
He was spotted with a plaster on his handCredit: Getty
But when the match resumed Maresca was spotted holding his hand.
Leicester’s medical team were quick to treat the 44-year-old and he was later seen with a plaster on his wrist.
Sky Sports explained that he had slipped in his technical area while celebrating and accidentally cut himself.
Maresca’s side managed to retain the lead for the majority of the game, but Leeds pulled off an outstanding comeback in the late stages.
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Connor Roberts equalised with a composed strike into the bottom-left corner in the 80th minute before 17-year-old Archie Gray fired the Whites ahead.
Daniel James’ free kick then deflected off Patrick Bamford in added time, sealing the win.
Leeds appeared to troll Maresca after the match with a social media post.
Ahead of the fixture, the Leicester manager described it as “just one more game,” suggesting that it was a bigger match for Leeds than it was for his side.
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However, the Whites used that at full-time, tweeting “just one more game,” with the words crossed out before writing “just one more win”.
After the match Maresca admitted that Leeds were “mentally better” than his side.
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