Roker Roundup: Sunderland co-owner releases autobiography & Jack Ross receives UEFA pro license

Ross completes pro-licence

Jack Ross received his UEFA Pro-Licence from the SFA on Sunday after he completed the 18-month long course.

The licence is the highest coaching certificate available and Ross was presented with his at Hampden Park, alongside the likes of Stephen McManus and Graeme Murty, who coach at Celtic and Rangers respectively.

Speaking after being presented with his award, Murty says being able speaking to his fellow coaches at the presentation was fantastic:

I got my Pro Licence from the SFA [on Sunday]. Talking to managers and players in that group is fantastic.

We shared a lot of experience and that is how football could and should be. Stephen McManus was in there as was Jack Ross, Alan Maybury and Mark Burchill and Austin McPhee among others.

It was great to speak to them and share experiences. Sitting down and talking it over is really cathartic.

Praise for PL bound academy graduate

Sunderland academy product John Egan is set for a spell in the Premier League after his Sheffield United side were promoted on Sunday.

That is quite a comeback from the centre-half after being released by Sunderland but Egan has rose through the league ladder to the top of the English game and another former Black Cat, Gary Breen, believes that experience will stand him in good stead:

As a young centre half, more often than not, you’re pushed out to fullback. That’s where you learn your trade, players feel a little bit safer there.

If you make a mistake, the opposition isn’t straight in on goal. The three at the back suits him, but he can also play four at the back. No doubt about it.

What he has got is that he’s been playing league football for so long. At Sunderland, initially, he has that bad injury. Then he goes to Gillingham and plays and wins player of the year.

He’s gets in the team of the season in League One. Then he goes to Brentford and plays even more. There’s a maturity in his game now and he understands what’s required of him as a centre half.

If his performance in the Premier League is going to be based off how quickly he’s learned at a young centre half, going through the league - then I think he’s going to be OK.

Photo by Paul Thomas/Getty Images

Sartori releases autobiography

Juan Sartori is currently polling in third place as he attempts to become the National Party’s candidate for president of his native Uruguay.

Sartori started as a rank outsider but has continually moved up in the polls and has also received the backing of other candidates who have backed out.

He was almost unknown in Uruguay before he entered politics late last year, so to help his chances in the election he has released an auto-biography this week to allow people to know more about who he is. The 180-page book ‘Volver: A Crear Futuro’ (Back: To Create A Future) was released by Penguin Random House and is available on Amazon.

Speaking about it’s release, the Sunderland director admits it won’t win any prizes but says writing it was therapeutic:

I do not intend to win any literary prize but it’s a nice story to tell and I hope it’s a nice story to read and if someone helps, the better.

This book reconnected me to some moments of my life, in which reality was different, where everything was not perfect. The result of some bad moments make you learn.

Writing that book was a therapy and it helps those who have criticized me without knowing me, now they know me.