Ball gets down to business

Ball gets down to business

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Sunderland caretaker boss Kevin Ball wasted no time as he started his preparations for the latest phase of his career.

The Black Cats face fellow promoted side Wigan at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, five days after parting company with Mick McCarthy.

Ball was asked on Monday to lead the club into the last 10 games of an ill-fated Barclays Premiership season, and was an avid television spectator that night as Paul Jewell’s side took on Manchester United.

"I went home Monday night, went in, gave the wife a kiss, said ’evening’," he said.

"She said ’Where are you going?’ and I said ’I’m going in to watch Wigan play on the telly now’.

"I watched the game, thoroughly enjoyed it and I thought they played very well. They were very unlucky."

Wigan’s 2-1 home defeat by their Carling Cup final conquerors provided Ball with all he needed to know about how tough his task will be as he attempts to restore pride at the Stadium of Light.

Saturday’s game will be the 15th to be played in the league at the Stadium of Light this season, and Sunderland have won none of them to date.

Indeed, they have collected only four points on home turf all season, a major contributory factor to their position.

Their only two wins of the season have come on the road, at Middlesbrough and West Brom, and with just 10.....continued below

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points to their name with as many games remaining, relegation is - and has been for some time - a racing certainty.

Ball knows it will take a miracle to save the club he represented with such distinction in 388 appearances, many of them as captain, but while he is well aware that the situation is dire, he is determined to enjoy every minute of his time at the helm.

"I’ll just try to take everything in my stride, take one day at a time - I think that’s the way to be," he said.

"If you were to sit down and analyse too quickly what’s gone on, maybe your head would become a shed.

"But I’ll just take everything in my stride and enjoy it. What’s the point of me doing it if I’m not going to enjoy it.

Gary Breen is suspended, so Steve Caldwell will return from a four-game absence to take over the captain’s armband, while strikers Andy Gray and Chris Brown hope to return to the squad after lengthy injury lay-offs.

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