Sunderland take legal advice over Di Canio criticism

Sunderland are taking legal advice over the broadside launched at the club and its players by former manager Paolo Di Canio over the weekend.

The 45-year-old Italian dismissed the Black Cats as “weak” as a club and some of its players as “cowards”, and was particularly critical of skipper John O’Shea and two players he discarded, Phil Bardsley and Lee Cattermole.

However, the Wearsiders, who have seen Di Canio’s successor Gus Poyet guide them closer to Premier League safety and into the Capital One Cup final and the fifth round of the FA Cup since he took over in October, hit back in a statement yesterday.