Sunderland confirm appointment of former Alex Neil as new head coach

The Black Cats have been among the leading League One promotion contenders all season but decided to sack Lee Johnson after a 6-0 thrashing by Bolton two weeks ago.

Caretaker bosses Mike Dodds and Michael Proctor have only made things worse, losing both of their games in charge, leading Sunderland to turn Neil on a 12-month rolling contract.

Neil said: "It is a privilege to be head coach of Sunderland AFC.

"Everything that I saw from the players this morning made me really confident and gave me belief, so what we now need to do is replicate that on a matchday - when it matters - under scrutiny and under pressure.

"Our task is to try and win as many games as we possibly can and at this moment in time we are focused on this season and this season alone."

Sporting director Kristjaan Speakman added: "Throughout his career, Alex has demonstrated that he can make an immediate and lasting impact.

"He expressed a clear vision on how he wants to take the team forward, which strongly aligns with our core principals, and we firmly believe that he can influence performances and results in the short term.

"We are grateful to our supporters for their patience throughout what has undoubtedly been a challenging period and thank Mike Dodds and Michael Proctor for overseeing our first-team programme in the interim.

"Now, our immediate priority is to support Alex and the team to ensure we deliver promotion this season and reward the faith continuously placed in us by our supporters."

Neil's appointment comes after Sunderland failed to finalise a deal to bring primary target Roy Keane back to the club despite several rounds of discussions.

The Black Cats are currently fourth in Sky Bet League One, just two points adrift of the automatic promotion places, although they have played four games more than Wigan in second while leaders Rotherham are a further nine points clear.