The turnaround Martin OâNeill has brought about at the Stadium of Light has been nothing short of remarkable. Sunderland had accrued just ten points, sitting two clear of the drop zone with only a pair of wins all season, when the former Aston Villa, Celtic and Leicester City manager took over. Having been in the stands for their 2-1 defeat by Wolverhampton Wanderers on 4 December, O'Neill has overseen four wins in six games, losing just one, and has also taken his side through to the fourth round of the FA Cup. âThe OâNeill factorâ are the words echoing around the north-east of England as Sunderland team sit comparatively pretty on 24 points in tenth place, claiming more wins in one month than they had in the previous four. With the Wearsiders top of the form charts since his arrival, and with O'Neill himself having named manager of the month for his first four weeks in charge, the Irishman certainly seems to be working his unique brand of magic once again. His first game in charge was a good barometer for what was to come. Trailing 1-0 to Blackburn Rovers with just six minutes to go, the doom and gloom slowly returning to puncture the initial optimism inside the Stadium of Light, David Vaughan struck from the edge of the box to restore parity. Then in the second minute of injury time Sebastian Larssonâs fine free-kick began OâNeillâs reign with style. Sunderland's next match, at high-flying Tottenham Hotspur, didn't kill the buzz as, having been pegged back to 2-2 by Queens Park Rangers after being two goals up, Wes Brown headed the winner a minute from time. A 1-1 draw with Everton followed and, while OâNeill himself ranks the recent 4-1 win at Wigan Athletic as the best result of his tenure, by far the most dramatic win came with the visit of juggernauts Manchester City on New Yearâs Day. We're fighting for our lives in this league and we defended with our lives. Our spirit is fantastic. I'm ecstatic.Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill on his side's dramatic win over Manchester City The barrage was predictable, with the visitors having three times as many shots, ten corners to Sunderlandâs one and dominating possession throughout. However, a defensive display full of heart and courage, typified by steely captain Lee Cattermole and an encouraging debut from youngster James McClean - who has shone for OâNeill since - set up for the most dramatic of finishes. Breaking forward with seconds remaining, Korea Republic international Ji Dong-Won exchanged passes with Stephane Sessegnon and slotted past Joe Hart to send the home crowd into raptures. After the game, OâNeill was clearly still in a jubilant state of shock. âIt was a remarkable performance," the Northern Irishman said hoarsely. "To contend with all our injuries like that was extraordinary. It was a fantastic game. We're fighting for our lives in this league and we defended with our lives. Our spirit is fantastic. I'm ecstatic." In paying tribute to his team, OâNeill also reeled off a list of players forced to play out of position, just returning from injury and even bedridden the previous day who went out and performed for him and the team. This was the impact many expected him to have when he arrived: getting the best out of a group of players, and getting their all right until the final whistle. Three wins clinched in the 89th minute or later in his first five games, following two losses inflicted in the final ten prior to his appointment, seem to imply that's just the kind of impact he has had. Cattermole is among the players who have lauded his methods thus far. âThe gaffer has brought a great belief and confidence to the team," said the combative midfielder. "Every game we go in to now we believe we can take three points from them, even against Manchester City. Even with the injuries we had, we still believed and it showed. At the end I think the manager just wanted to say 'well done'. He keeps telling everyone how good they are and he has got everyone in good spirits. He is very intelligent and he has a massive passion." A knack for the extraordinary OâNeill does have a previous record for producing the extraordinary at club level. Even brushing over his magnificent European Cup success with Nottingham Forest in 1980 as a player - this after he was injured for the 1979 final - he surprised many with his silverware success with another provincial Midlands club, Leicester City. Having been relegated from the top flight the previous season, the Foxes were transformed by O'Neill and triumphed in the Division One play-offs to take them back to the Premier League at the first time of asking. Celtic are an absolutely massive club and they have been starved of success. It will not come easy.O'Neill on joining Celtic, before winning seven competitions in five years. That, however, was merely the start as the former Northern Ireland international guided Leicester to a top ten finish, as well as taking them to their first major title in 33 years by winning the League Cup . Better still, Leicester qualified for the final of the same competition of the same competition twice in the following three years, losing the first to a last-minute Tottenham Hotspur goal before seeing off Tranmere Rovers in the second, establishing O'Neill the most successful manager in the clubâs history. With three pieces of silverware and four top-ten finishes, OâNeill cashed in his kudos and moved north of the border to take over a Celtic side who had won just one Scottish League title in the previous 12 seasons. âCeltic are an absolutely massive club and they have been starved of success," he said at the time. "It will not come easy, it's daunting, but it's really exciting at the same time.â Cue a treble-winning debut season, with a clean sweep of domestic honours, followed by another two league titles during his five-year spell as well as a double-winning year in 2004. The Bhoys reached at least one cup final in every one of O'Neill's seasons at the helm, with the most dramatic a heart-breaking extra-time defeat by Jose Mourinhoâs Porto in the 2003 UEFA Cup. Henrik Larsson, meanwhile, reached new heights under O'Neill's tenure, finishing top scorer in the SPL for four years running. When the Irishman called time on his stay in Glasgow, he left with seven winner's medals. Although his next assignment at Aston Villa was moderately successful in comparison, O'Neill still managed to take the Birmingham side to their first major final in a decade, losing to Manchester United in the League Cup. Furthermore, he also brought Villa Park its first taste of European football in seven years. The consistency of his record is such that, while it may be fanciful this season, Sunderland fans have high hopes of travelling to a Wembley final with O'Neill in the not too distant future. And who would bet against it? How good is it to be a Mackem right now eh?!?!
Ah but that is the unknown factor Syd. O'Neill has done very well but, who knows, if we had brought Hughes in as manager, in the 7 games, we may have had 21 points out of 21.
Clever. Seb Larsson uses the adjective seven times to describe his new manager. Each time the articulate Sunderland midfielder is looking for a more original description for the man at the helm of a remarkable turnaround. Each time we arrive back at the same word. "He puts little things into your head in a very, very clever way," says Larsson. "It's hard to remember an actual example but he might joke about something and everyone is laughing and then you go home and you sit down and you go: 'Hold on a second, there was something in there which was a serious bit.' He put that across in a way so you don't forget. He puts little thoughts in your head and he knows they're going to stick." It is eight games since Martin O'Neill took over at the Stadium of Light. Larsson caught a bit of the unveiling on his television at home. O'Neill had already met his new players twice by then, once to watch them in training hours before he signed his three-year deal. A second at half-time during the defeat to Wolves, officially his first game in charge, when he left affairs in the hands of Eric Black. The third time, Larsson sat on his sofa and watched O'Neill stress that he had never once mentioned a January transfer budget with Ellis Short, the Sunderland owner and chairman, during his talks to succeed Steve Bruce. He wanted the job, he stressed, and he wanted to work with the players at the club. It was his first psychological attempt to lift a demoralised set of footballers. "You're interested in knowing his thoughts and what lies ahead of you," adds Larsson. "He has shown a lot of faith in us. That has been good for the players. He told us straight away we were more than capable of climbing the table, and that we have a good enough squad to do that. "One of the biggest things he will have looked at when he took the job was confidence. We have a good squad and a good bunch of lads that can play decent football. Confidence was very low after struggling early on, he probably identified that as important. "When a manager gets to leave his job, let's be honest, a big responsibility lies on the players. We have not got enough points. You have to realise that and you have to do better. He told us that as well. He is a very, very clever man. He could have come in and blasted us and that might have taken us further down. After a week, or a couple of weeks, you start realising that he is clever." O'Neill has used his full armoury of motivational tactics to transform a football club. Since he has sat in the dugout on his return to management after a 15-month sabbatical, Sunderland have won five games from seven, losing only to title-chasing Tottenham at White Hart Lane. Tuning into his players' minds has been the key. "He will watch training and come over and have a word with a player. He doesn't talk to me individually every day as a manager, but he has had a few words and he sees the other players. He talks to us after games as well. You saw that with Lee Cattermole after the Manchester City game when he came on to the pitch to congratulate him. I suppose it is about building a good relationship between the players and the manager, which he has definitely done so far. "The way I have described him so far is the best way, about him being clever and putting his thoughts across in a clever way. It is the one thing that has really stuck in my head and made me really think he is doing the right thing. "He has come in with loads of enthusiasm for the game and a lot of energy. At the same time, he told us a big responsibility lies with the players. We have to step up to the plate and win some games. "So far he's calm before a match. Before he speaks he has a message he wants to get across and he doesn't shout for the sake of shouting. He makes you listen to what he has to say because I think he always has a point that he wants to put across to you. Of course, we're playing a lot better. We're more confident as a team and with that you play better. If it's a game that is tight with 10 minutes to go, rather than worrying about losing the game, we are now like: 'Come on, we can win this'. After we have won games, you see how much it means to him in the dressing room. He has been right in the middle of the celebrating. That is brilliant, of course, when you see what it means to your manager. He is all hugs then."
Good posts Scatty (and FTM1973). Very insightful from Seb, who seems like a very intelligent young man himself, and he is right, MON IS clever. He studied law which shows he has a keen mind that gets to the nub of problems. He saw straight away that we had a good squad who, for whatever reason, needed motivating to reach their potential. So he spoke to them individually and as a group and showed them that HE had confidence in them. He didn't criticise but made them feel important and more than capable of winning games. Add the touch of genius to include McLean, and ensure everyone knew the job they were expected to do and, 'Lo and behold' like magic, we have a team to be proud of. Playing for each other and the fans, who fight to the last and don't let their heads drop if we lose a goal. I can honestly say I have never seen such a turnaround in such a short time in my life and if anyone had told me 6 weeks ago I would feel like this I would have laughed. I am trying not to get too carried away. I have seen false dawns before. But this feels different because, while we may get beaten today, we also know that the lads will play to the best of their abilities and will be organised. They will run and chase and tackel right till the final whistle, playing without fear, and ensuring Chelsea have had a very hard game by 5 o clock. I think we may even win!! Just can't help myself
