Parkinson replaced Ross at the helm of the Stadium of Light in October 2019 following the Scotsman’s tenure, during which Sunderland failed to win promotion back to the second tier.
After 12 games in League One, Parkinson’s side are currently sitting in eighth in the league standings with 22 points, only three adrift of second placed Peterborough United, who are currently occupying the automatic promotion spots along with leaders Hull City.
Winless in their last two League One outings, Sunderland’s performances have come under scrutiny in the highly competitive league and ex-Black Cat Elliot has urged Parkinson to be braver and bolder in terms of his decision making at the club.
The Sunderland boss needs to get his house in order, according to Elliott, and the former striker issued advice to the 52-year-old to properly use the five substitution slots available to him to keep his players more involved and thereby maintain a high team spirit at the Stadium of Light.
“To gain promotion as a manager, you must be brave, and you must be bold”, Elliott wrote in his Sunderland Echo column.
“Both Parkinson, and his predecessor Jack Ross, have failed to be either.
“Phil Parkinson still has time to fix this, as there is a long way to go and the gap isn’t huge but it will need to be fixed quick.
“There are five substitutes allowed per game now and that should be an advantage to this club, with the experience within the squad for this level.
“Automatic promotion is still achievable as there are no standout teams in the league but Sunderland, and Phil Parkinson, must get their own house in order first.”
Sunderland are on the road again in the league on Friday and will be looking to snatch all three points from their hosts Fleetwood Town, who are level on points with the Wearside giants at the moment.
