‘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.

“We had a great camaraderie there and we all pulled for each other,” he said. “The thing we realised most was we weren’t world-class, we weren’t above our station.

“We got into winning ways because we knew what got us the results, and it was hard work and honesty,” he said.

“We had a great team spirit, we looked after each other and no-one let anyone down on the pitch.

“You can see that being installed here, because it’s had to be. We’ve brought the kids in now and we’re looking to them to do jobs and stuff, and we’ve become a close unit because we’ve been bombarded with all the bad publicity.

The choice of McAteer as Gray’s replacement reflects the growing maturity of a former Spice Boy once nicknamed “Trigger” by his team-mates.

“I’m thick, the lads reckoned,” he said with a smile. “I’m the lad who, when I was asked about a pizza, ‘Do you want it cut into four or eight slices?’, I said four because I’d never eat eight.

“At the end of the day, I class Mick McCarthy as a friend as well, and I want to see him succeed, and if I can help him in any way, then if he gives me the armband and sees me being that responsible person, then that’s the person I’ll be.

Newcastle midfielder Gary Speed has signed a one-year extension to his contract which will give him a chance to play an extended role in the club’s drive for glory.

The Wales captain will remain on Tyneside until the end of the 2004-05 season.