Profiling Glynn Snodin; Grayson's number two - his bro played for Sunderland, but only in a few

Simon Grayson has become the first manager to bring an assistant with him to Sunderland since Gus Poyet joined in 2013, the Uruguayan having brought staff from former club Brighton.

Grayson will be joined in the Stadium of Light dugout by Glynn Snodin, who has been his number two at a trio of different clubs spanning the last eight years.

The last three managers on Wearside have either opted to promote from within or keep their predecessor's assistant in post. Dick Advocaat raised Paul Bracewell from youth team coach to become his number two and the former Sunderland midfielder was kept in post first by Sam Allardyce and then David Moyes.

That strategy has borne little fruit and Sunderland have at least enabled the new man to bring his assistant from Deepdale with him.

The rest of the coaching set-up - or what's left of it - will remain, with Robbie Stockdale kept on as first team coach and Adrian Tucker staying to train the Sunderland goalkeepers.

As a player, Glynn Snodin is best remembered as something of a utility man, turning out in a variety of positions mainly out wide in midfield or at left-back. Indeed, many credit him with being a forerunner of today's wing-back and he is recalled as a player who never gave anything less than 100-percent.

The 57-year-old is a something of a legend at Doncaster Rovers - having made over 300 appearances at Belle Vue - before spells with Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United where he was briefly a teammate of Eric Cantona. Snodin turned out four times against Sunderland sides as a United player.

Snodin's latter playing days took in a successful spell at Hearts to fulfill an ambition of playing European football.

Photo by Russell Cheyne/Getty Images

Glynn was famed for his free-kicks and he was top scorer at Doncaster for two seasons. But his best remembered set-piece came in September 1992 when he hit an absolute smasher from 30-yards to ensure Hearts progressed in the UEFA Cup against Slavia Prague.

Those of a certain vintage will also remember the Snodin brother who played briefly for Sunderland - Ian. That was back in 1994 when the tough-tackling sibling played six games under Mick Buxton during a short loan from Everton.

Both Ian's and Glynn's sons have had careers in the game. Jordan, son of the former was on the books at Leeds before being released in 2013 and Lee, son of the latter, has played for Doncaster and Charlton.

But it is as a coach that Glynn Snodin arrives at Sunderland and his pedigree is impressive with spells as manager of Charlton Athletic's reserve team before joining the backroom staff at Southampton, Northern Ireland and West Ham.

After hanging up his boots, the Rotherham-born trainer briefly ran the "Glynn Snodin Soccer Academy" at Gainsborough Leisure Centre coaching youngsters on Saturday mornings.

Snodin was at Scarborough as youth team coach when former Sunderland defender Gary Bennett was playing in North Yorkshire during the twilight of his career and from there the former Leeds midfielder was appointed as a scout at Carlisle before moving into first team coaching.

But it's his partnership with Grayson which has brought the most success in Snodin's coaching career as assistant at Leeds, Huddersfield and Preston.

Renowned as something of a character, at Preston Snodin was more often found in the stands on a matchday tracking his player's fortunes from a higher vantage point than on the touchline.

Particularly hailed for his abilities at marshaling defensive drills, Sunderland's new assistant boss will have his work cut out to sort out a back-line which will have to be largely re-engineered in the few weeks before the season starts.

But his biggest single task will be lifting a set of players and backroom staff who were battered by criticism for months on end as last season faltered to such a miserable climax before the much-maligned manager David Moyes finally walked out.