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On This Day in 2011: Martin O'Neill named new Sunderland manager

Martin O'Neill made a promising start at the Stadium of Light.

Martin O'Neill was unveiled as Sunderland's new manager on this day in 2011.

The Northern Irishman, then 59, signed a three-year contract to replace Steve Bruce, who had been sacked three days earlier.

O'Neill, a boyhood Sunderland fan, took over at the Stadium of Light after a 2-1 home defeat to Wigan had left the club 16th in the Premier League.

O'Neill made a promising start to life as Sunderland manager
O'Neill made a promising start to life as Sunderland manager (Owen Humphreys/PA)

He was returning to management for the first time in 16 months following his resignation as Aston Villa boss in August 2010.

The former Leicester and Celtic boss, who had also had spells at Wycombe and Norwich, had been the bookmakers' favourite to succeed Bruce.

O'Neill was considered one of the game's leading managers after guiding Villa to three successive sixth-place finishes in the top flight and to the League Cup final in 2010, when they lost 2-1 to Manchester United.

He had also enjoyed success at Leicester, with whom he won promotion to the Premier League, and Celtic, who won three league titles, three Scottish Cups and a League Cup during his five years in charge.

O'Neill was unable to find the winning formula at the Stadium of Light
O'Neill was unable to find the winning formula at the Stadium of Light (Owen HUmphreys/PA)

His impact at Sunderland was instant. The Black Cats won seven of his first 10 fixtures to ease relegation fears before finishing the season in 13th place.

But despite signing England winger Adam Johnson and Scotland striker Steven Fletcher, the following campaign did not go to plan and, in March 2013, O'Neill was sacked.

An eight-game winless run had left Sunderland back in 16th place and O'Neill, who won 16 of his 55 Premier League matches at the club, was replaced by Paolo Di Canio.

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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sunderland139222391429
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd149321871128
3Leeds UnitedLeeds137512281426
4Burnley136521761123
5Watford147162222022
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom13562148621
7Middlesbrough146351816221
8Millwall135441612419
9Blackburn RoversBlackburn135441614219
10Swansea CitySwansea14545119219
11Bristol City144731819-119
12Norwich CityNorwich144642320318
13Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds145361724-718
14Oxford UnitedOxford Utd144551717017
15Coventry CityCoventry134361717015
16Derby CountyDerby134361617-115
17Stoke CityStoke134361518-315
18Hull City143651518-315
19Cardiff CityCardiff134361319-615
20Plymouth ArgylePlymouth144371425-1115
21Preston North EndPreston133551420-614
22Luton TownLuton133371521-612
23Queens Park RangersQPR141761223-1110
24Portsmouth141671327-149


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