Stoke City vs Sunderland preview - Pulis tips O'Neill for England job

Posted Saturday, February 04, 2012 by PA

Stoke manager Tony Pulis feels his Sunderland counterpart Martin O'Neill would be a "fantastic choice" to succeed Fabio Capello as England head coach.

Former Leicester, Celtic and Aston Villa boss O'Neill has had a major impact at the Stadium of Light since his appointment in December, the Northern Irishman taking a Black Cats team that was hovering just above the Barclays Premier League relegation zone into the top half of the table.

Wednesday's 3-0 win over Norwich made it 19 points from the last 27 on offer for the Wearsiders and saw them move into eighth place, leapfrogging Stoke, who they play at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.

Pulis is certainly anticipating a stern test for his side and sees O'Neill as a prime candidate to take charge of England after Capello.

"Just look at their (Sunderland's) form - I think they are the form team in the Premier League," Pulis said.

"I went up and watched them on Wednesday night and they are winning, they have got loads of confidence and Martin has got them really going. It is going to be as tough a game as we have had at the Britannia this year.

"It is not just the last few games he has managed at Sunderland. If you look at what Martin has achieved over his career as a manager, it has been exceptional.

"This is not just a coincidence - the record says that he is a top, top manager, because he gets results.

"If England are looking for a British manager next time around, if it is not going to be (Tottenham boss) Harry Redknapp then Martin would be a fantastic choice."

These are also heady times for Stoke, who have what Pulis describes as a "massive month" ahead of them, with an FA Cup fifth round trip to Crawley and both legs of their Europa League last-32 tie against Valencia to come on top of their league fixtures before the end of February.

Asked if he was facing the most challenging period of his managerial career, Pulis said: "Yes, and I think it will be one of the great moments, if we achieve success, that this football club has been through in its' history.

"To be in the position we are in at the moment - still challenging in Europe, in the fifth round of the FA Cup for the third year running and in the top 10 of the Premier League - means the next month is massive.

"We need everyone to be galvanised, especially the supporters.

"We hope we get their support like never before - and that is difficult, because they have been top drawer for us over the past four or five years."

Winger Matthew Etherington is a doubt for the game having missed two days of training due to a virus.

Aside from that concern, Pulis has virtually a full squad to select from, with only long-term absentee Mamady Sidibe (knee) unavailable.

O'Neill admits he worries constantly over the fight for Barclays Premier League points.

The Black Cats eased themselves on to 30 points with the resounding victory over Norwich which put them into eighth place to surely banish their fears of being dragged into the fight against relegation they found themselves in as Steve Bruce's reign drew to a close.

However, O'Neill, while delighted with a tally of which he could hardly have dreamt when he first picked up the reins, is no more ready to relax as he prepares for the tough trip to Stoke.

Asked if he still frets over his side's vastly improved standing, he said: "Every day, of course.

"I remember saying to you here way back some weeks ago, the first ambition of mine was to try to get level points from the number of games we had played.

"That was the first thought so it would give you a little bit of respite, you would need that on the board, and then eventually, you would look to go past that.

"We were able to achieve that and then obviously, the winning of the games gives the players the confidence and self-belief to go on.

"Winning football matches is the be all and end all."

Injuries continue to play a significant role in the Black Cats' season with Wes Brown sidelined for up to two months, David Vaughan facing a number of weeks about and skipper Lee Cattermole only expected to return to training at the end of next week.

But loan signings Wayne Bridge and Sotirios Kyrgiakos are now on board - the former appeared as a late substitute in midweek and the Greece international is the squad for Saturday's game - and Fraizer Campbell's blistering return has provided a welcome boost.