BILLY BUNTER

Weblog: The football punter

Black Cats may not need O'Neill magic at Wolves

Say what you like about Steve Kean – and Blackburn fans usually do – but he must be a popular man among his fellow  Premier League managers.

All the focus on Kean probably bought Steve Bruce another six weeks at Sunderland and it’s enabled Mick McCarthy to keep a low profile during Wolves’s terrible run of form.

McCarthy’s men have lost eight of their last ten league matches but they must have been looking at today’s game against Sunderland like a pack of hungry, well, wolves sizing up a field of juicy sheep.

But luck is always a stranger when you’re near the bottom of the table and so the struggling visitors will have an extra spring in their step after the arrival of Martin O’Neill.

I don’t think the Black Cats were areally bad side even before Bruce got the sack – they’ve got some decent midfielders and Nicklas Bendtner will bag them a few goals, which should be enough to finish about ninth in this mediocre Premier League.

They certainly look a decent bet to win at Molineux on Sunday, even if O’Neill hasn’t had much time to work his magic.

Not that McCarthy will be worried – if Wolves do lose their fans will probably all be chanting “Kean out!” at the final whistle.