Martin O'Neill is prepared to offer a clean slate to the Sunderland squad he has inherited, but admits there will be changes.
New Black Cats boss confident he handle expectation
Martin O'Neill is prepared to offer a clean slate to the Sunderland squad he has inherited, but admits there will be changes.
O'Neill, who has succeeded the ousted Steve Bruce at the Stadium of Light, has taken the reins of a club that has won just two of its 14 Premier League fixtures so far this season.
That sorry run sees them sat one place above the drop zone, with only a solitary point keeping them out of the bottom three.
O'Neill has been brought in to turn the ship around, and he is already drawing up plans for what he hopes will be a brighter future.
He feels he has enough experience and potential at his disposal to salvage Sunderland's season, but concedes that he will need to mix things up in order to get the required response from his players.
O'Neill said: "There will be changes. I assume I will be using most of my senior players and they will have some sort of chance - some a better chance than others.
Ability
"We have a number of games and the Christmas period, which is not as congested as it used to be, but four games in quick succession, and I would imagine we will have to use a number of players over that period.
"We will see what develops. But it is going to take me a few weeks before I realise the abilities of the team and individuals, and perhaps the potential of one or two.
"That is what I will be doing. More importantly, we need to win some games. I wouldn't just want to put a team together, because this league is too unforgiving for that, but senior players will get an opportunity.
"When good players lose confidence, you'll not see them play at anything like their ability. That needs to be restored and it needs to be restored pretty quickly.
"I think the players have to try to perform under pressure. You have to be able to perform when your confidence is not that high - it's that much easier to perform when things are going for you.
"I think they've had those experiences and I hope that sort of thing will stand them in some stead for the coming months. It will need to."
Expectation
O'Neill claims to be looking forward to facing the challenges that lie ahead and he will get a first taste of the pressures involved in his new post when Sunderland play host to fellow strugglers Blackburn on Sunday - in what will be his first game in charge.
"In this day and age clubs of this size would want to have some sort of expectation," he said.
"It would be nice, it would be great to have some sort of ambition.
"I just don't know, but the idea of wanting to have ambition, it doesn't scare me. In fact, that's the sort of thing that would spur you on.
"Peter Reid twice finished seventh and last season under Steve they finished 10th. This is the fifth year now of Premier League football, so there's a foundation there.
"What you would like to do if it's at all possible is to try to push on."
