Sunderland chairman: Bruce had to go

Sunderland chairman Ellis Short says the sacking of Steve Bruce was not a knee-jerk response to November 26’s home defeat to Wigan.

Bruce was sacked by the English Premier League club on November 30 and since been replaced by ex-Leicester, Celtic and Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill, with American Short insisting the board intervened ‘for the good of the club’.

Short told The Sun: “It wasn’t specifically the last home game against Wigan that determined we would change manager, because we outplayed Wigan for most of the game.”

“However, once again, things didn’t go our way and ultimately we were left to reflect on the fact that, over a long period of time, we have been underperforming.”

“We believe the club should be in a better position and consequently the board took the action we believed was necessary for the good of the club.”

New manager O’Neill got off to a good start at the Stadium of Light on Sunday with a 2-1 win over Blackburn, thanks to David Vaughan’s late long-range effort and Sebastian Larsson’s stoppage-time free-kick.