O’Neill pledges to bring success to Sunderland

He has been promised funds, unsurprisingly, given that he walked out of Aston Villa after not being allowed to continue a lavish spending programme.

“It’s a big moment and I’m hoping it works out well,” he said last night. “Naturally I want to do well for the fans, the team and myself. If we can combine all this and start winning football matches it would be terrific. All I can say, without promising the earth, moon and stars is I will do my utmost to bring a bit of success to Sunderland.”