MICK McCARTHY reckons Sunderland face another tricky test this afternoon when they travel to underachieving Leicester City.

City chalked up their first win in seven league games when they crushed a poor Coventry side 3-0 at the Walkers Stadium on Monday.

The victory proved to be the Foxes most convincing win of the season and provided new boss Craig Levein with a welcome boost in his first home game in charge.

The former Hearts' manager was installed in the Leicester hot-seat after Micky Adams stood down.

The east midlands' side have struggled to adapt to life in the Coca Cola Championship since being relegated from the Premiership last term and have languished in the lower reaches of the table, despite having lost only one in 12.

McCarthy, however, is expecting the Wearsiders to bounce back from last week's 2-0 defeat at Millwall but is under no illusion of the difficult task that lies ahead.

He said: "I was at the Leicester game and Coventry made it difficult for them until Lilian Nalis scored.

"It was only once they scored that Coventry came out and were picked off, and they got another two goals in a convincing win."

McCarthy will come face to face this afternoon with David Connolly, the striker he had earmarked to shoot the Wearsiders' into the Premiership this season, but the former West Ham striker opted against a move to the Stadium of Light.

The Black Cats' boss is full of praise for his former Republic of Ireland charge and is well aware that his failure to get his signature last summer could well come back and haunt him.

"David Connolly played well and I thought him and Jamie Scowcroft looked a good partnership," observed McCarthy. "David looked like the player I wanted to sign in the summer.

"I would be quite happy if both Stephen Elliott and Connolly were at the club, but it wasn't to be, and after his decision not to come, I rang him and wished him well.

"Leicester are a decent team and are a lot like Wolves. They have some good players who have come out of the Premiership maybe not playing with too much confidence, but a 3-0 home win against Coventry will help that.

"I'm sure under the new manager they will be dangerous because they have good players and if they start playing with confidence they can only improve.

"You always hope that when a new manager comes in it is a catalyst for a turnaround.

"Against Coventry, they worked very hard and looked very organised; which is difficult to do in two or three days.

"But what you do get when a new man comes in is an increase in work-rate and effort; people trying to impress; and somebody who wasn't in the picture with Micky Adams and Dave Bassett, can suddenly get themselves in. But they looked a decent side.

"They have got Peter Canero, Jordon Stewart, Matt Heath and Nikos Dabizas at the back, and they were decent, and Gudjonsson sat in front of them. But they have players who can play comfortably at this level despite the fact that they might not have been having great results or performances."

Captain Gary Breen makes a welcome return to the Sunderland line-up this afternoon after thigh strain kept the no nonsense stopper out of last week's bruising encounter with Millwall.

The 31-year-old defender admitted the Black Cats' 2-0 defeat against the Lions was frustrating viewing for him, and despite paying tribute to the youngsters who filled in in his absence, felt the team could have benefited from his experience on the pitch.

He said: "When I was suspended earlier in the season, I wasn't as bad watching because we were doing well. But it was frustrating against Millwall because I felt myself and a couple of the older players could have made a difference.

"I think Millwall took advantage of our youthfulness and naivety at times. The referee was allowed to get away with things that possibly the older players would have nipped in the bud earlier - such as cuddling the opposition players."

Breen believes this afternoon's opponents will be Sunderland's main threat to an automatic promotion place this season despite their struggle so far. The skipper also hailed Republic of Ireland team-mate Connolly, as not only the Leicester's most dangerous player but the best striker in the Championship.

He said: "We looked at Leicester's squad in the summer and the signings that they made, like Martin Keown and David Connolly - who would have been fantastic had he come here - and you would expect them to have done better.

"I think David Connolly is the best striker in this division to be honest.

"He turned down Sunderland because it was a personal decision to stay closer to home. But him not coming gave an opportunity to Stephen Elliott, who has taken it with both hands and things work out like that.

"But it's still very early and with a change of manager I'm sure they will still be one of our main rivals come the end of the season. In fact I have no doubt they will be."

Meanwhile, playmaker Julio Arca ended speculation he would be leaving the Stadium of Light at the end of the season by signing a two year extension to the eight months left on his current contract.

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