Kavanagh relishing dream tie

Carlisle manager Graham Kavanagh will put all friendships on hold when he returns to former club Sunderland this afternoon in the third round of the FA Cup.

It is a dream tie for Irishman Kavanagh, who won the Championship title as a player with Sunderland in 2007 and has been in charge of Carlisle for less than four months after stepping up from assistant to replace Greg Abbott in September. Kavanagh was restricted to 15 appearances during his two-and-a-half years as a midfielder for Sunderland before seeing out his playing days at Carlisle, where he arrived initially on loan in 2008.

“On a personal level it’s great for me,” the former Middlesbrough, Stoke, Cardiff and Wigan midfielder said.