Aberdeen club statement confirms they have allowed McInnes and his assistant to talk to Sunderland

Things seem to be moving along quickly in Sunderland's pursuit of Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes, with the Scottish Premier League club confirming that they have 'reluctantly' allowed both McInnes and his assistant, Tony Docherty, to hold talks about the vacant managerial positions on Wearside.

Despite comments from an Aberdeen board member this afternoon suggesting that the rumours of McInnes being allowed the chance to officially speak with Sunderland were false, it appears that positives steps are being taken in order to ensure Sunderland have a manager in time for pre-season starting in around two week's time.

In a statement released on their Twitter feed, Aberdeen FC wrote:

With official statements like this it would be safe to assume that it is now just a matter of time before Derek McInnes is confirmed as our manager after weeks of speculation since the man he's set to replace, David Moyes, left Sunderland following our relegation from the Premier League.

There are two important things that we should note here:

1. Should this move go through as expected, Derek McInnes will be the first manager Sunderland have paid compensation for since Steve Bruce was appointed in the summer of 2009. Every other manager since was appointed as a free agent.
2. Derek McInnes is being allowed to bring with him his assistant manager, something which none of our last three managers - Dick Advocaat, Sam Allardyce and David Moyes - were afforded.

The time is now to re-build this club with a young, up and coming manager who is making steps forward in his career, and McInnes is the man that Sunderland have decided to place faith in.

McInnes has proven at Aberdeen that he is able to work with limited resources and a tight budget, something which will have appealed massively to both Ellis Short and Martin Bain.

Whilst his previous stint in England with Bristol City was not deemed a success, McInnes has built up his reputation as the Dons manager and has taken them to Scottish League Cup glory whilst also leading them to some of their highest league finishes in years and back to European football.

McInnes' time with Aberdeen cannot be viewed as anything other than a complete success, and the hope will be that, should he and his assistant opt to take up Sunderland's offer, they will be able to lead this club back to the Premier League at the first time of asking with limited resources afforded to them.