The 41-year-year-old took up his position at the Stadium of Light in the summer of 2012 after quitting his job as caretaker coach at Darlington FC.
He was part of the staff which helped Sunderland’s Academy earn the coveted Elite Academy status.
The former Middlesbrough and Darlington defender moved into football management in 2009 when he took up several caretaker roles as coach at Darlington, keeping the club together during troubled financial times before taking up the opportunity of youth coaching at Sunderland.