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O'Neill and Hughes battling for Sunderland job

Martin O'Neill has reportedly spoken to Sunderland regarding the vacant role as manager © Getty Images

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Sunderland have earmarked either Mark Hughes or Martin O'Neill as the man to replace ousted manager Steve Bruce at the Stadium of Light.

O'Neill, the fans' favourite, has been out of the game since leaving Villa in acrimonious circumstances in August last year, but has been linked with several managerial vacancies since. He has vast experience after launching his career with Wycombe, and his spells at Norwich and Leicester won him a chance to manage Celtic before heading south of the border once again.

Hughes quit Fulham in June to "further my experiences" but believes Sunderland are a club that can match his ambitions, according to the BBC. The former Manchester City boss began the Sheikh Mansour revolution at Eastlands, as it was then, before being given the boot to make way for Roberto Mancini.

Sunderland owner and chairman Ellis Short is believed to want Hughes above all others and has put him top of the list, ahead of bookies' favourite O'Neill. The former Wales manager's work at Blackburn Rovers, a struggling Premier League side when he joined and led them to the top six, makes him the ideal candidate.

Former Sunderland defender Michael Gray agrees: "I was with him for four years at Blackburn and I know exactly how he works."

Gray, who spent 12 years with Sunderland, told BBC Radio Five Live. "He gets the best out of players. The last 15 minutes of games was when it counted, he had us so fit. And that's what Sunderland are missing at the moment.

"He's certainly No. 1 on my list. I'd like to see either him or Martin O'Neill, but my No. 1 candidate is Mark Hughes. I know he would hit the ground running, getting positive results for Sunderland and moving them into the top half of the Premier League."

Bruce's two-and-a-half years at Sunderland were brought to an end following a home defeat to bottom of the table Wigan Athletic at the weekend that leaves the black Cats just two points clear of the relegation zone. Short decided results were "simply not good enough" and wielded the axe.

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