KEVIN BALL lent his weight to Sunderland's relegation battle for the first time yesterday as he rejoined the club after a three-year break.

Ball, 38, began work as a coach alongside Howard Wilkinson after the Sunderland manager invited the former Black Cats captain to join his backroom team following three months of talks.

The ex-Sunderland midfielder, who spent more than nine years as a player on Wearside before leaving in 1999, has been given the responsibility of working with the club's young professionals

However, he is also likely to coach the senior squad as they battle to preserve their Premiership status against increasingly long odds.

Ball said: "I am thrilled to have been offered a position with the club.

"My family has remained in the North-East as I always hoped to return one day. I have fantastic memories of my time with Sunderland and am very proud to now be working for the club.

"Howard Wilkinson, Steve Cotterill and Jocky Scott have a tremendous amount of coaching experience and I feel I can benefit from their knowledge.

"It'll be great being involved with the club again on a day-to-day basis and of course being with the lads.

"There are a lot of lads who are still around from when I was playing and I'm sure they'll be looking forward to working with me again.

"I was always the one shouting out the orders. The only difference now is that they'll have to listen!"

Wilkinson's decision to recruit Ball comes as he tries to improve his coaching team after Peter Reid's staff were sacked en masse in October.

Wilkinson said: "Kevin has many positive attributes that will help him in his desire to become a coach.

"His enthusiasm, energy, determination and commitment are qualities I admire in him, and it is these qualities I'm sure will prove to be very beneficial to him in his career and to this football club.

"From our first meeting in December, Kevin acknowledged that there is a lot of work ahead of him if he is to obtain the required qualifications.

"But we are looking forward to working with him and helping him achieve his ambitions.

"Although Kevin went on to play for other clubs, his heart remained here in the North-East, and I think he will be an invaluable member of the team."

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