Sunderland have sacked their head coach, Tony Mowbray, after 15 months in charge. His departure comes two days after his side’s 1-1 draw at Millwall, which extended their poor recent run to one win from their past five games. The Championship side, who have also parted company with Mowbray’s assistant, Mark Venus, confirmed that Mike Dodds will take over pending the appointment of a new head coach, starting with Saturday’s match with West Brom at the Stadium of Light. The club’s sporting director, Kristjaan Speakman, said: “All at SAFC have thoroughly enjoyed working with Tony and he is quite rightly held in high regard by our players and staff, and our supporters. After arriving at an uncertain time, he helped guide us to the Championship playoffs and played an important role in developing our team. “This was a difficult decision to make, but we remain loyal to our ambition and our strategy, and felt that now was the right moment to take this step. We are now focused on identifying the right candidate and we will continue to support our coaching team and players throughout the interim period.” Mowbray replaced Alex Neil, who departed abruptly in August last year, and led Sunderland into the playoffs, where they lost to Luton in the semi-finals. Despite a bright start to the current season, his side appeared increasingly unsettled and have slipped out of the playoff places to ninth, three points adrift of the top six. Meanwhile, Swansea have sacked Michael Duff as their head coach with the club 18th in the second tier. The 45-year-old departs after a winless run of five games and only one victory from their past eight after their recent 1-1 draw against Huddersfield. Duff was appointed in June, having led Barnsley to the League One playoff final last season, and was in charge for fewer than six months. The assistant head coach, Martin Paterson, follows Duff out of the club with immediate effect, while fellow assistant head coach Alan Sheehan will take caretaker charge. The Swansea chairman, Andy Coleman, released a statement on the club’s website, which read: “This was a very difficult decision and one that was given considerable thought and attention. “I acknowledge that there has been a significant amount of change at the club, both on and off the pitch, during Michael’s tenure. I consistently asked for patience as we gave him time to implement his plans and bring the squad together. “Unfortunately, we have seen neither the results that we expect nor the progress from the squad that we need. I believe it is now in the best interests of Swansea City to make a change of head coach.”