The key issues Sunderland's new head coach will be tasked with resolving and what they'll inherit

Most new managers, or head coaches as is increasingly the way in the modern game, find themselves in something of a bind.

The circumstances which have presented them with the opportunity to get back into football, or to step up the managerial ladder, generally mean they inherit a team and a dressing room where there are significant issues. Regardless of anyone's individual opinion of Tony Mowbray and the decision to look for a new head coach, no one could argue that he las left behind anything other than excellent platform for whoever succeeds him.

Sunderland still sit just three points of the Championship play-off places, and their underlying performance data suggests that there isn't a great deal wrong with this team. Wyscout's model places them third in their expected points table, which essentially means they believe there to be only two teams in the division (Leeds and Leicester) who are consistently better at creating better goalscoring opportunities than they cede. Mowbray has built a team which consistently controls games from box to box, and which has developed considerably in structure since his arrival.

It goes almost without saying that the new head coach must first and foremost find a way to convert that dominance into better results in both boxes. It is no straightforward task, many of Sunderland's defensive issues have stemmed from set pieces and that is in so small part due to the make-up of the squad, full of technically-gifted players but few with real height and aerial presence in the box. Aji Alese and Dennis Cirkin, two of Sunderland's best players in the air, have been injured for much of this season and remain sidelined. There have been some poor chances conceded from open play, too, and tightening up the side is a key priority. Again, many would argue that the addition of an experienced or at least a natural holding midfielder, the sort of player Mowbray has not been able to call upon since Corry Evans suffered an ACL injury in January, would make a big difference in that regard.

The bigger task is in the other box, in what arguably became the biggest bone of contention before Mowbray's departure. Sunderland are yet to get a goal from one of their four recognised strikers and Mowbray made clear after his final game against Millwall that he felt this was primarily due to their inexperience. He hinted that said inexperience was impacting Sunderland's results, and that it may be better to go with one his more established attacking midfielders as a false nine. The counter argument was that the freedom Mowbray gave his wide players starved those young defenders of the early service they needed to impact the game. Whether it is Mowbray or those dissenting voices that is right will arguably define the success or otherwise of his successor, who like Mowbray will be appointed with a clear remit to prioritise the development of the young players in the team and to keep giving them opportunities at Championship level.

The comments from both Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman following Mowbray's departure made clear that at least in their view, this was a decision made only in part because of recent frustrating results. Louis-Dreyfus spoke about the desire to create a high performance culture, and also to continue their development of a 'strong' playing identity.

What this means in future weeks will be fascinating to observe, because under Mowbray this season Sunderland became one of the best teams in the division at controlling possession and they were also one of the most aggressive outfits, second only to Alex Neil's Stoke City according to Wyscout.

The comments about a 'relentless demand for a high performance culture to be implemented' are far harder to assess from the outside, but strongly suggest that the new remit for the head coach will be alter elements of the club's approach away from the pitch.

There will be other metrics on which the new head coach is expected to excel, too. As well as giving regular playing opportunities to young players (which is something Mowbray absolutely did even accounting for his comments after Saturday's game), there will also be a clear focus to give more opportunities to the club's recent acquisitions. Though injuries have clearly played a significant part, only Jobe Bellingham of the summer additions has really pushed his way into the side on a regular basis.

There is almost certainly going to be little to no change in Sunderland's approach in the transfer market, either in the January window or next summer, and so identifying a head coach who they believe can get the best of players who come to the club from all over the world is going to be key. The changing room has changed significantly over the course of the last few transfer windows and many have long expected the club to eventually pursue a similar course in the dugout.

Fundamentally, the expectation has long been that Louis-Dreyfus would push for a different profile of head coach and the next appointment will likely reflect that. Whoever succeeds Mowbray will have a sizeable task in trying to improve on what has essentially been 15 months of basic overachievement, and yet a talented young squad also makes it a hugely enticing opportunity.