Gary Neville believes that Sunderland’s decision to appoint Paolo Di Canio as their new manager is a risk.
The former Premier League and England right back, who is now working at Sky Sports, was speaking on Monday Night Football about Di Canio’s appointment.
“It’s very un-Sunderland like. When you think of their previous managers, Peter Reid, Roy Keane, Steve Bruce and Martin O’Neill, you could argue it is very different from those appointments,” Neville said.
“Maybe that is something that Ellis Short was very conscious off and wanted to do. It is a risk but life is about risks.”
The former Manchester United defender also believed that O’Neill was not given enough time.
“I would never sit here and think a manager who was appointed 16 months ago as a messiah, goes to becoming the villain and responsible for everything,” he added.
“He’s spent some money but its no time in a job. It’s no time to build what he wanted to create up there.”
Sunderland decided to part ways with Martin O’Neill after their 1-0 defeat to Manchester United sees them slip deeper into the relegation battle.
Di Canio was quickly appointed as the club’s new manager and has received a mixed reaction from fans due to his limited management experience and his alleged political affiliation.
There have been 28 occasions when Premier League clubs have decided to change managers after Christmas. 14 times has seen the club get relegated, while the other 14 times has seen the new manager guide them to safety.
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