After Michael Baele was fired, Sunderland reached an agreement to hire a new head coach.

Sunderland: Mike Dodds makes an accusation against Ross Stewart.

Ross Stewart has suffered with injuries since his big-money move from Sunderland to Southampton.

Striker Ross Stewart has struggled since moving from Sunderland to Southampton this summer.

Stewart joined the Saints on deadline day for an initial cost of £8 million, with a further £4 million in potential add-ons.

After scoring 11 goals and providing three assists in 15 appearances in an injury-disrupted campaign for Sunderland last season, the signing of Stewart was seen as a coup for Southampton, but he has continued to be plagued by fitness issues.

Stewart was sidelined with a long-term Achilles injury when he arrived at St Mary’s, meaning he did not make his debut for the club until November, and after just two substitute appearances, he sustained a serious hamstring injury, with manager Russell Martin revealing that he does not expect him to play again this season.

“Unless our season is extended then we will have to have a look at it but I don’t think there is expectation on Ross to play at any point,” Martin was quoted as saying by the Daily Echo.

Sunderland have clearly missed Stewart this season, with the absence of a prolific striker proving costly to their top-six chances.

The Black Cats have had a terrible few weeks, suffering five straight defeats, and they are currently 11th in the table, 10 points behind the play-off places, before of their trip to Southampton on Saturday.

Mike Dodds on Ross Stewart’s Southampton situation

Sunderland interim head coach Dodds worked with Stewart during his time at the Stadium of Light, and the 37-year-old revealed his admiration for the striker and his sadness at his current injury problems.

“I have a lot of love and respect for Ross Stewart,” Dodds told the Sunderland Echo.

“Not only was he a good footballer for this football club but he is a great lad. He turned up every day with a smile on his face. He worked really, really hard. I’ll be honest, I am absolutely gutted and devastated for him.

“If he is listening, and I say this politely, I am not upset or distraught that he is unavailable this weekend.

“I understand how much he will be hurting right now. He wants to play football, and I know he’s been out for over a year and isn’t doing well.

“So I do really wish him all the best and I hope he is back on the grass playing as soon as possible, just not this weekend, but I have nothing but good things to say about Ross.”