Martin O’Neill was surprised and delighted by Sunderland’s 4-1 win at Wigan last night.
Coming just two days after beating Manchester City 1-0 the points have lifted Sunderland upto tenth place in the table and created a little bit of distance with the relegation dogfight.
Former Derry City winger James McClean, who played against Celtic in the Dublin Super Cup for the Eircom XI, scored his first goal in the Premiership as the Black Cats enjoy the benefits of the O’Neill factor.
“I thought it was the best result since I arrived,” the Sunderland boss said. “Manchester City was a great win for us, to score in the last minute, it seemed as if we’d played three games, particularly in the last 20 minutes of the game.
“We’ve had a day less to prepare (than Wigan). I accept the fact the adrenaline’s still flying with us but to come here and win today was a fantastic performance. I just don’t know where they got the energy and will to keep going from.
“The players don’t feel that they can be beaten at the moment. I think they are enjoying winning football matches.
“I’m delighted with the spirit of the team. They feed off each other and it was a magnificent performance.”
O’Neill has still to make his first signing of the transfer window, which won’t surprise any Celtic supporter, and has been linked with Stan Petrov, Carlos Cuellar and James Collins of Aston Villa.
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