O’Neill relishes challenge at Stadium of Light

MARTIN O’NEILL has pledged to “do his utmost” to bring success to Sunderland after taking over as the club’s new manager.

The former Aston Villa boss swept into the Stadium of Light yesterday to sign a three-year deal as Steve Bruce’s successor.

Northern Irishman O’Neill — a Sunderland fan since childhood – is back in the game after just over a year away and says he can’t wait to get started on Wearside.

“It’s a nice feeling to be back in football and obviously I’m very excited about joining Sunderland,” he told SAFC TV. “It’s a big moment and I’m hoping it works out well.

“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.”

O’Neill’s passion for Sunderland grew out of an admiration for Cork-born great Charlie Hurley — who starred for the club between 1957 and 1969 — while the new Stadium of Light boss was growing up in Northern Ireland.

Indeed, such were his feelings for the Roker Park outfit – at the time featuring hero Hurley – that his support would often result in schoolyard scraps with fans of other English teams.

“You were either Celtic or Rangers in terms of a religious divide, but most of the boys took an English team too,” he said.

“Much to the laughing of one or two who took Manchester United and teams like that, I took Sunderland, with Charlie Hurley [being there].”

O’Neill watched Sunderland’s defeat against Wolves from the stands and officially takes charge today.

The Black Cats continue their run-in towards the Christmas period with a home clash with Blackburn on Sunday and O’Neill is targeting a quick start to his reign to get Sunderland on their way.

“Every single game is important – the Barclays Premier League has become the Holy Grail of football,” he said.

“You want to get yourself established. We had a great season last season, finishing 10th, and a wee bit of a disappointing start this time, but we hope that with a little bit of luck we can turn things around.”