Hughes is right at Stadium of Light

It seems the writing was on the wall for Steve Bruce even before the final whistle last Saturday. The Gary Speed news story just delayed the announcement for a few days. Despite the bookmakers making Martin O'Neill the favourite to succeed at the Stadium of Light does not mean much if the Sunderland owner has already sounded out a replacement.

It seems Ellis Short favours Mark Hughes for the post. If todays stories about Hughes travelling for an interview are to be believed then it seems a foregone conclusion. Hughes may have left previous club Fulham on bad terms but that has been his only "failure" in management.

He revitalised an ailing Wales side almost making Euro 2004 during the process. Only defeat in a playoff with Russia stopped an great achievement. Then he moved to Blackburn. Some would say the club hasn't been the same since he left. In his first season he avoided relegation and reached the semi finals of the FA Cup. In his second season Blackburn finished 6th and again made a cup semi final in the League Cup. He also spent well during his time here. David Bentley (£500,000), Stephen Warnock (£1.5m), Ryan Nelsen (free), Christopher Samba (£400,000) and Roque Santa Cruz (£3.5m). The third season saw them finish 10th in the league, go out in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup and lose another FA Cup semi final. He finished his last season in 7th place.

In 2008 he became manager of Manchester City. Although they only finished 10th in his first season they did also reach the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup. More shrewd signings in with the likes of Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta joining the returning from a miserable Chelsea spell Shaun Wright-Phillips. Then came the money men and Robinho, Bellamy, Given and de Jong all signed during that first season. Over the summer he added Santa Cruz, Barry, Tevez, Adebayhor, Kolo Toure and Lescott to his squad. They finished the season in 5th out of the Champions League places and lost in the semi final of the League Cup.

Next came a call from Fulham. Although the split seems on bad terms, Hughes left Fulham in 8th place and qualified them for the Europa League. Ok there are critics who will say he draws to many matches but his formula works and his record speaks for itself. He will know a few of the Sunderland players from his Man United days.

As a player Hughes won honours with 3 different clubs and played for Barcelona and Bayern Munich back in the 80's. He is a man who will get the defence working as a unit, install some guts to the midfield and allow the creativity to flow.

It is a possibility considering Blackburn's plight that Pederson and Samba could be persuaded to rejoin their former boss at Sunderland. From the players available at City maybe Wayne Bridge would welcome a switch. Also there are many U21 stars desperate for first team games leading towards the Euro's. Darron Gibson and Danny Welbeck from Manchester United spring to mind while Ryan Bertrand is another from Chelsea.

There is a decent squad to work with should Hughes inherit the managers job. Gordon, Westwood and Mignolet are all decent keepers and Brown and Richardson are good defenders. O'Shea needs to find some consistent form and fitness. Bardsley and Bramble when they play exceed their levels of potential.

Their midfeild isn't bad with Cattermole, Sessegnon, Larsson and Gardner but needs something extra. Above all else Sunderland need to replace Darren Bent's goals. A guaranteed 20 goal a season man. Rodallega is another who may be a consideration. Bendtner just isn't going to make it in English football but if Hughes can get Wickham firing on all cylinders then things could be on the up.

Were Roque Santa Cruz not on a season loan and had Craig Bellamy not signed for Liverpool on a free in the summer then I'd say they were both Hughes players. Bellamy excelled for Wales under Hughes and again performed for him at Man City and Santa Cruz's Blackburn form prompted Hughes to take him to City where an unlucky run of injuries have seen him now playing on loan in Spain.

If Hughes can get 4 or 5 signings in during the transfer window combined with giving the rest of the club a much needed confidence boost then Sunderland should be safe and can look to plan for a future. As for Hughes once he was touted as a possible successor to Sir Alex Ferguson. If that is to be the case then this is his chance to show his managerial credentials.