O'Neill praises young Black Cats

Martin O'Neill saluted his young guns after launching his career as Sunderland manager with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Blackburn.

Stunning strikes from David Vaughan and Sebastian Larsson in a frenetic conclusion to the game saw the Black Cats snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. However, O'Neill chose to single out the contribution of 22-year-old Irish winger James McClean, making his senior debut as a substitute.

He said: "Just at the moment when probably we all need a lift, on comes James McClean and his first move was probably the first time the crowd have seen him, and he was so positive. He wants to get at players - he is so positive and he is young, immature - and that was great, and the crowd took to it."

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