Tommy Miller has urged the Sunderland board to hand Kevin Ball the manager's job.
Tommy Miller has urged the Sunderland board to hand Kevin Ball the manager's job on a permanent basis.
Ball is in charge until the end of the season, having taken over at The Stadium of Light in early March following Mick McCarthy's exit.
Though Ball has yet to win a game as boss, Miller has been impressed by the caretaker's managerial ability.
With The Black Cats preparing for life back in The Championship, Miller believes Ball is the right man to lead the club in another promotion push.
"He's come in with fresh ideas," Miller told The Northern Echo. "He's done very well and personally I'd like to see him get the job.
"He's a good man-manager. He knows what he wants from the players, he knows the players individually and he knows what the players' strengths and weaknesses are.
"As long as you work hard he gives you a licence to play."
Miller scored Sunderland's goal in Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Portsmouth and he feels the performance at Fratton Park shows there is no shortage of confidence within the squad, despite the club already being relegated.
He added: "We're bottom of the league and supposedly we're rock bottom on confidence, but it didn't show on Saturday.
"We've kept on fighting - the results maybe haven't gone for us - but we've kept on playing. It's important that we've all stuck together.
"We've taken a lot of stick, a lot of setbacks, a lot of knocks. Press, TV and everything.
"It shows the lads' character that we've bounced back - every one of us. We've done well, but it wasn't good enough."
