It won’t just be the presence of a former judo champion which means Martin O’Neill will have “no fear” today. But do not mistake that for a lack of respect for Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger.Read
HAVING come back from their last three trips to Wearside winless Arsenal should know it better than most, but Phil Bardsley believes the whole Premier League are starting to regard Sunderland as tough cookies.Read
ON a night when the minds of English football fans inevitably turned to managerial credentials, two of the North East’s incumbents furthered theirs.Read
JOHN O’Shea has got to grips with life after Manchester United and become a real leader, according to Martin O’Neill. But his impressive displays on and off the field pose no threat to Lee Cattermole’s grip on the Sunderland captaincy.Read
TO listen to Martin O’Neill in a Press conference you would think the phrase he came out with yesterday – “Disaster is around the corner” – was his motto. There are, it would seem, two O’Neills.Read
FOOTBALL managers love a smokescreen. If you walk into a press room or in front of a camera expecting criticism of yourself and/or your team, get in early with a talking point to distract the media.Read
ON paper it was the biggest away win of Martin O’Neill’s embryonic Sunderland career. On the white surface they played on instead, it was even more impressive.Read
KEIREN Westwood could today be handed another chance to stake his claim in what Martin O’Neill expects to be a great three-way battle to be Sunderland’s No.1.
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PAPISS Cissé is in line for his Newcastle United debut tomorrow – but the £7.5m Senegalese striker took minutes to have an impact on his new club.
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IN a couple of months as Sunderland manager, Martin O’Neill has made a cottage industry of turning good players into better ones. The secret, says Stuart Rayner, is trust.Read
THREE years after he left, Shay Given will finally return to St James’ Park for the first time as a player. Alan Pardew will be joining what seems certain to be a very warm reception tomorrow.
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Stuart Rayner is a sports writer who covers a wide range of sports in the North East. Before heading to the region in February 2005, he worked for the Liverpool Echo.
