Martin O'Neill reignites row with Paolo Di Canio over Sunderland comments that saw coaches clash
Former Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill has reignited his feud with Paolo Di Canio after the Italian succeeded him at the Stadium of Light.
O'Neill, who has extensive managerial experience at clubs such as Aston Villa, Celtic and city of leicesterappeared on talkSPORT alongside Sam Matterface and danny murphy when the subject of your departure in SunderlandEdit arose.
The Northern Irish manager was sacked in March 2013 and replaced by Di Canio, who criticized the team's fitness in comments that irritated O'Neill at the time.
A war of words began which included the Italian being branded a “management charlatan” and O'Neill still harbors a grudge more than a decade later.
Speaking live on talkSPORT, the 72-year-old said: “I was the Sunderland manager and I left Sunderland and Paolo Di Canio came in and he made fitness references.
“He was there for about 16 weeks, including pre-season, and eventually lost his job because the team wasn't fit enough.
“So he recovered. He was a brilliant, brilliant player, but he couldn't eat fish at the end of the day.
“This affects you, it does. You cannot speak about the suitability of the previous regime.
“It may be correct, but don't start (the job) by saying it publicly because it can come back to haunt you.”
O'Neill was in charge of Sunderland from December 2011 to March 2013 after a defeat against manchester united It saw them sit one point above the relegation zone.
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But while the Black Cats survived under Di Canio's tutelage, the Premier League legend was sacked weeks into the following season after the club's chief executive Margaret Byrne revealed that players had come to her for their ” brutal criticism” of the team.
Asked about his successor, O'Neill said: “Paolo Di Canio? That managerial charlatan, absolutely, yes.
“Paolo intervened and basically, as the weeks went by, he ran out of excuses. I had a wry smile to myself.
“It's like a 27-year-old manager intervenes and the first thing you do is criticize the team's fitness beforehand. If you've ever seen Aston Villa play, you'll see that the only thing I'm proud of is the teams.” Be in shape.
“What you will find interesting is that when it started, the team was not in condition for the Chelsea game. Then the following week when he won at Newcastle, there was no mention of him not being fit.
“Then, about two weeks later, they were attacked by Aston Villa, someone asked him about his fitness. Suddenly, he didn't know where to go. Because the team, as it progresses, should get fitter and fitter.
“And then at the beginning of the season, when they lost by a late goal in SouthamptonThey asked him about the fitness regimen, which was going to have the fittest team in the league.
“Suddenly, fitness wasn't for that game but for Christmas, when the winter months came. You know, I had a wry smile at that.”
Di Canio has not managed a club since his sacking at Sunderland, while O'Neill went on to coach the Republic of Ireland for five years and also had a brief spell at Nottingham Forest in 2019.
