SUNDERLAND will hold further talks with head coach candidates in the coming days with Liam Rosenior having emerged as the frontrunner for the vacancy - but the former Hull City boss is also of interest to Burnley.

Rosenior is understood to have held talks with Black Cats bosses with further discussions now planned.

The 39-year-old has been out of work since his surprise Hull sacking at the start of the summer.

He was on Birmingham City's shortlist to replace former Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray but was keen to hold out for a Championship opportunity. He was a Championship Manager of the Year nominee last term after guiding Hull to a seventh-place finish.

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Sunderland were deep into their search for a new head coach when Rosenior became available early last month but with talks with a number of candidates having broken down, the former Derby boss emerged as a target.

Other candidates are still being assessed but Rosenior is now the heavy odds-on favourite with the bookmakers.

He is, however, also interesting Burnley, who are on the lookout for a new head coach after Vincent Kompany left for Bayern Munich.

The Clarets have taken their time in assessing their options and are said to be now ready to start the interview process. Frank Lampard and Scott Parker are both in contention to take charge at Turf Moor, but Rosenior is also said to be of interest to Burnley bosses.

Burnley's former boss Kompany is expected to have Rene Maric as part of his coaching team at Bayern. Maric, currently in charge of Bayern's Under-19s, has been on Sunderland's radar since the start of the process to find a replacement for Michael Beale, but the 31-year-old looks set to stay in Munich.

Marti Cifuentes is another head coach on Sunderland's radar but the Black Cats would have to pay compensation to lure the Spaniard from QPR, where he impressed last term after taking charge in October.

Pascal Jansen was spoken to by Sunderland but ruled out of contention over the weekend and the former AZ boss now looks set to take charge at Ferencváros, in Hungary.

Sunderland chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus last week said he hoped an appointment was "imminent" with the Black Cats entering the "final stages of the recruitment process".