By Mark Ramsay

MICK Mulhern hopes to carry on coaching despite stepping down from his role as Sunderland Ladies manager.

The decision to leave The Lady Black Cats yesterday brings an end to his 15-year tenure, which has seen the side accumulate seven league titles and a league cup trophy.

“I’m sure at some point in the future I’ll be involved in coaching but obviously not on a full-time basis,” said Mulhern.

“I’ll finish off my A licence and the club have been very supportive with that and they’ll help me finish it off.”

The decision to part ways comes not long after Sunderland achieved promotion to the top tier of women’s football after being crowned WSL 2 champions, but Mulhern believes it is the right time for change.

He said: “It’s in the best interests for Sunderland going into WSL1 that they have full-time staff and with me having a full-time job I couldn’t commit to that so unfortunately I’ve had to stand down.

“It’s sad to be leaving but it’s for the good of the club and I’m just delighted and proud of everything that’s been achieved there during my time so I leave with nothing but fond memories.

“I think they’ll do very well (next season) and I think that the whole professional outlook that the club are looking towards will be a massive step in making that happen.”

In his time in charge of Sunderland, Mulhern achieved a lot of success but believes last season’s FA Women’s Super League 2 title was the peak.

“There have been lots of league titles but I guess this one means the most because it’s taken the club to the highest level,” he said.

“In the early years we had the odd relegation when the club was building but we bounced back and it’s been nothing but good things since really.”

Mulhern has been a driving force behind the Lady Black Cats’ rise up the ladder and guided the club through difficult spells, including when their application to be part of the inaugural WSL was rejected.

Alongside Everton, Birmingham and Leeds, Sunderland have provided the England women’s set-up with the most players and the announcement of Mark Sampson’s squad to face Germany next week at Wembley again saw the inclusion of several of Mulhern’s former stars, including Steph Houghton and Jill Scott.

“In my 15 years I’ve produced an awful lot of players who have gone into the England set-up and I’m very proud of the six girls that are currently in the first-team squad.

“They began their footballing time with me and that’s where they’ve progressed to and I’m proud of that.”

Throughout his career Mulhern has received several personal accolades to acknowledge the success he has had during his time with Sunderland.

He said: “Winning the FA Women’s Manager of the Year award three times is nice, it’s not something that many people do so I’m happy with that.