TONY MOWBRAY confesses he had no idea he had triggered a new contract extension at Sunderland until Jack Clarke began praising him on it this week on the training ground.
Mowbray’s initial deal, negotiated when manager succeeded Alex Neil early last season, was set to end next summer.
However, it was revealed earlier this week that Sunderland’s sixth-place finish last season had automatically triggered a one-year extension, tying the North-Easterner to the Stadium of Light until the summer of 2025.
Mowbray claims never to have read the fine-print of a contract in his life, and has not been involved in any discussions over his future this summer despite the speculation that built towards the end of last term when the Black Cats hierarchy were linked with a potential move for a new head coach.
As a result, he was not aware of this week’s developments until Clarke approached him at the Academy of Light.
“I didn’t know anything about it,” said Mowbray, whose side return to action after the international break on Saturday with a trip to QPR. “As we were walking into the training ground the other day, Jack Clarke was giving me the thumbs up and pretending to sign something in the air. I just said, ‘What are you on about?’
“I’m not sure, and to be honest, I’m not particularly interested either way.” I’ve never been very interested in contracts; I simply enjoy football and football fans, and I want to come to work.
“Of course, contracts must be correct because at the other end of a contract, generally when you’re losing your job or want to move on, that’s when you really need legal people to make sure that everything is correct.”
“But, even before the play-offs, I believe the contract extension kicked in towards the end of last season because of where we were going to finish.” So, I believe my contract was extended prior to the play-off matches last season.”
Mowbray readily confesses that he is unaware of any further terms in his contract linked to Sunderland’s performance this season, having been caught off guard by the events of this week.
He has not questioned whether another extension will be granted if the Black Cats repeat their play-off success from last season, with the fickle nature of football management implying he will always be in a perilous position if things do not go well.
“I honestly don’t know if there’s anything that kicks in again,” he remarked. “If we make the playoffs again this year, I’m not sure if things will change again.” I’m not sure.