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Martin O'Neill admits surprise at Sunderland revival
The Black Cats boss says nobody could have imagined the club sitting in eighth place with 30 points when he took over as manager from Steve Bruce in early December
3 Feb 2012 22:22:00
By Danny Hart
Getty Images
Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill has admitted his surprise at the club's progression since his arrival.
The Black Cats currently lie eighth in the table and have picked up 30 points from 22 matches in the Premier League this season, despite finding themselves in the relegation zone just two months ago.
The club have also won seven of their 11 games since the arrival of the former Aston Villa boss in December, losing only twice in the process.
O’Neill told reporters: "Naturally, I am delighted for the points we have accumulated, and it's far more than we could ever have imagined and ever have expected at this stage.
"I am also mindful of the fact that we have a distance to go to make sure we get those extra points on the board, and while the eighth position seems pretty decent, it is not something I have always concerned myself about.
"You just try to keep the momentum going, which will be important because if you lose it, then you don't know where it comes from again."
He added: "I remember saying to you here way back some weeks ago, the first ambition of mine was to try to get level points from the number of games we had played.
"That was the first thought so it would give you a little bit of respite, you would need that on the board, and then eventually, you would look to go past that.
"We were able to achieve that and then obviously, the winning of the games gives the players the confidence and self-belief to go on.
"Winning football matches is the be all and end all."
O'Neill also praised the impact of the returning Fraizer Campbell from injury, but admits he still needs to be wary over the player's fitness.
He said: "It's gone very well, but of course, we are looking at a game and a half.
"I am very pleased with him - I am pleased he has got on the field of play.
"I'm obviously delighted he has made such an impact, but to ask him now to go and continue that there...
"I am sure he thinks there's no reason why he can't do, but I am just careful, genuinely careful, about trying to keep him fit now at this moment."
The Black Cats currently lie eighth in the table and have picked up 30 points from 22 matches in the Premier League this season, despite finding themselves in the relegation zone just two months ago.
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The club have also won seven of their 11 games since the arrival of the former Aston Villa boss in December, losing only twice in the process.
O’Neill told reporters: "Naturally, I am delighted for the points we have accumulated, and it's far more than we could ever have imagined and ever have expected at this stage.
"I am also mindful of the fact that we have a distance to go to make sure we get those extra points on the board, and while the eighth position seems pretty decent, it is not something I have always concerned myself about.
"You just try to keep the momentum going, which will be important because if you lose it, then you don't know where it comes from again."
He added: "I remember saying to you here way back some weeks ago, the first ambition of mine was to try to get level points from the number of games we had played.
"That was the first thought so it would give you a little bit of respite, you would need that on the board, and then eventually, you would look to go past that.
"We were able to achieve that and then obviously, the winning of the games gives the players the confidence and self-belief to go on.
"Winning football matches is the be all and end all."
O'Neill also praised the impact of the returning Fraizer Campbell from injury, but admits he still needs to be wary over the player's fitness.
He said: "It's gone very well, but of course, we are looking at a game and a half.
"I am very pleased with him - I am pleased he has got on the field of play.
"I'm obviously delighted he has made such an impact, but to ask him now to go and continue that there...
"I am sure he thinks there's no reason why he can't do, but I am just careful, genuinely careful, about trying to keep him fit now at this moment."
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Live!
England 1-0 Belgium, Netherlands 4-0 Northern Ireland - follow all the international action LIVE! ahead of Euro 2012
With countries across the continent gearing up for their final warm-up games ahead of Euro 2012, join us for all the action from Saturday's friendlies. Get in touch with us via Twitter with your reaction.
Hosted by Joe Doyle
Hosted by Joe Doyle
20:06 BST
So, that game gave a few players a chance to impress for England. Who did/didn't? Will Welbeck start against France? Or Carroll? Or Defoe?!
19:59 BST
Unfortunately for Northern Ireland, they are trailing the Netherlands 4-0 at half-time. Looks like that one's all sewn up then.
19:54 BST
We're still getting plenty of Hazard chat on Twitter. A few are now saying that he's not worth the hype, others saying he was brilliant(!?) and others (which I agree with), saying he created much of his own hype. What do you think? Get involved!
19:46 BST
Joe Hart has also been giving his thoughts after the Belgium game: "It was a really tough game, a good run out. I thought we played well, [but] we were a little bit bitty at times.
"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.
"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.
"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
19:38 BST
Here's Roy Hodgson's reaction to the result and some injury chat: "I'm very pleased, it's been a hard week and we've used a lot of players. There was a lot of disruption in the second-half with substitutions – some forced upon us, some we wanted to do. But it's still a very good end to the week playing against a good Belgian team here. Arguably even stronger than the Norwegian team we played last week and I've got to be more than happy that we've come out with another victory."
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
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