‘Trigger’ to call the shots for McCarthy at Sunderland

JASON McATEER will lead Sunderland into their Division One campaign after being handed the captain’s armband by manager Mick McCarthy.

The 32-year-old midfielder, who enjoyed the highs of international football under McCarthy’s stewardship of the Republic of Ireland, succeeds Michael Gray, who has become a peripheral figure at the Stadium of Light as the Black Cats seek to off-load their biggest earners.

And, as the Wearsiders take the first steps on the road which they hope will lead them back into the Premiership, McAteer can see similarities between the squad of which he is now a part and the one which performed World Cup heroics for Ireland.