Excitement grows as O’Neill bids to end home misery

Martin O’Neill may feel like the new kid in school, but he knows there will be no chance to ease himself back into football management when his Sunderland side meet fellow Barclays Premier League strugglers Blackburn tomorrow.

The former Leicester, Celtic and Aston Villa boss ended more than a year out of the hotseat when he took over at the Stadium of Light last weekend following the sacking of Steve Bruce.

Sunderland could already be in the bottom three when they take to the pitch tomorrow depending on results elsewhere, but that will definitely be the case if they lose to Rovers, who currently sit one point and one place behind them. That his team are at home will be of little comfort to O’Neill given they have picked up only 13 points on Wearside in 2011, while this season’s tally of 16 goals in 14 games is another priority area for the new boss.

He said of his first week: “It’s been particularly hectic. It’s trying to get to know players, backroom staff, and they likewise with me. But the excitement is still there, obviously building up to Sunday’s game, and I’m looking forward to it immensely.

“There has always seemed to be a good atmosphere around the place, I just think it’s a little bit of confidence that has been lost. I really think it’s key [getting that back] because when players lose a bit of confidence, it doesn’t matter what ability they have, they don’t shine in the same fashion. The best way to change that is by winning some football matches as soon as possible.” Meanwhile, Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that Manchester United skipper Nemanja Vidic will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury.

Vidic suffered the injury during the first-half of United’s Champions League defeat by Basel on Wednesday and his agent said the defender had ruptured his cruciate ligament.

“Nemanja is out for the season,” confirmed Ferguson yesterday. “It is bad news. He will be a loss.”

It merely adds injury to the insult of ending up in the Europa League, which Ferguson described as a “punishment” on Wednesday night. Those comments did not go down well with Uefa president Michel Platini, who made his irritation known.

However, Ferguson attempted to defuse the row yesterday.

“It is a good competition, a strong competition, you only have to see some of the teams that are left in it,” Ferguson said. “The point I made about it being a punishment was only in the sense that for 20 years, this club has only thought about the Champions League. We have just thought about winning that European Cup.

“The punishment is the big disappointment of not challenging for it this year, having been in three finals in the last four years. It was not a slight against the Europa League. It is a competition we want to win.”

With a win much-needed against Wolves at Old Trafford today, Ferguson is hopeful that Dimitar Berbatov recovers from an ankle injury in time to take part.