Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat tipped to be fired first in Premier League

Dick Advocaat may look back at his decision to stay on as manager of Sunderland as a big mistake.

His side slumped to a 3-1 defeat to Norwich City on Saturday, making it two losses to start the new season. The Black Cats only escaped the drop in May after earning points in four of their last five games - including an important 0-0 draw away at Arsenal. Advocaat had tears in his eyes when the full-time whistle blew back then.

He was supposed to leave right there as the hero of a relegation battle, after making a promise to his wife that he would retire.

Advocaat already had 15 titles to his name, managing in places like the Netherlands and Germany, as well as the United Arab Emirates and South Korea. England was meant to be his last stop.

“No, no, no I’ll get a divorce," Advocaat told reporters when asked if he would remain. "This is my last job."

But Mrs. Advocaat apparently had a change of heart, allowing her husband to continue on. Sunderland supporters raised more than £2,000 to send her flowers. They were only supposed to cost £150.

Now the sense of gratitude is waning. Sunderland have conceded seven goals on the way to two desperate losses to Leicester City and Norwich. He is now the odds-on favourite to be the first manager to leave this season.

As of now, Advocaat simply doesn't have an answer for the poor performances.

"In training they give everything," the 67-year-old told Sky Sports on Saturday. "I cannot complain about that at all. But in the game I see players playing that I don’t expect. It’s difficult to find out what it is."

Fans left the Stadium of Light in droves before the match against Norwich even reached the hour mark, and Advocaat completely understood why.

"The expectation was higher than last season," he said. "We were hoping we could start better than we did last year, but we started the same.

"You have to keep it simple and if we can't keep it simple we have a problem."

Sunderland went winless in its first six games last season.