On This Day on Football History

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On this day in Premier League history: 8 October

8 October 2013 - Sunderland name Poyet as new head coach

Bottom-of-the-table Sunderland appointed Gus Poyet as their new head coach in a bid to reverse their fortunes in the Barclays Premier League.

Poyet, who starred for Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur as a Barclays Premier League player, replaced Paolo Di Canio at the Stadium of Light after leading Brighton & Hove Albion to the Championship play-off semi-finals the previous season.

On Poyet’s arrival, the Black Cats were 20th with one point from their first seven matches and he said: “I look forward to proving my ability to the fans – I want them to believe because we need to stick together.

“It’s a huge challenge but one I am excited about and I am grateful for the opportunity to manage in the Barclays Premier League.”

Poyet brought along his Brighton backroom team of Mauricio Taricco and Charlie Oatway, who helped him steer the Seagulls to promotion from League One in 2011, and agreed a two-year deal.

Sunderland chairman Ellis Short said: “We analysed a wide range of candidates and believe that Gus’s track record, experience, commitment and passion make him the right man to take us forward.”

Poyet’s first match in charge was a 4-0 defeat to Swansea, but a Capital One Cup win over Southampton was followed by a shock win against Manchester City to lift Sunderland off the bottom of the league table.

One more victory in the next nine matches left the Black Cats four points adrift of safety on New Year’s Day.

In mid-April and with five matches to play, giving them a match in hand on the three teams above them, Sunderland were six points behind 17th-placed Norwich City and their seven-year stay in the Barclays Premier League was hanging in the balance.

But an incredible sequence of four consecutive victories, including away triumphs at Chelsea and Manchester United, lifted them to safety with one match to spare to complete a great escape from relegation.

After the victory over West Bromwich Albion which confirmed Sunderland’s survival, Poyet said: “I will start believing in miracles. It’s been difficult and I don’t know if you will see something similar ever – it’s one of the best days of my life.”

The Black Cats became only the second club, after West Brom in 2005, to avoid the drop having been bottom of the Barclays Premier League table on Christmas Day. They also reached the Capital One Cup final, which they lost to Manchester City, in the 2013/14 campaign.