SAM ALLARDYCE has the Sunderland job because there are problems at the Stadium of Light and he knows that.

The challenge facing him is to find solutions to the things pulling the Black Cats towards the Championship once more.

He is confident enough that he can and after meeting many of the players for the first time on Monday morning his latest managerial role is well and truly underway.

Regardless of the reservations he might have had about taking on the job, he would never have accepted it if he felt it would end in failure. He has already admitted there will be no quick turnaround.

Sunderland, staring at a five point gap to safety after eight Premier League games, don’t actually have much time, though, so Allardyce must work his magic in the next few weeks or the instant lift a new boss can bring might not lead to longer term rewards. To stand a chance of that happening, these are the main issues he needs to address above all else.

WOEFUL HOME FORM

Sunderland are without a win in four games at the Stadium of Light in the Premier League this season, but that statistic does not tell the whole story. It is merely a continuation of the struggles to win home games under Paolo di Canio, Gus Poyet and Dick Advocaat.

The Northern Echo: An empty looking Stadium of Light before the final whistle against Norwich. Picture: CHRIS BOOTH

If Allardyce can come up with a way to improve a dreadful record on Wearside then that would go a long way towards improving morale in a squad which has clearly lost its sparkle. There are plenty of other influencing factors, but winning more games at home would certainly lift players and fans alike.

A record of just 14 league wins from the last 65 matches to be played at the Stadium of Light must have taken its toll on a group struggling to find consistency and the confidence required to stay away from trouble.

Allardyce, whose first home game is against Newcastle after this Saturday's trip to West Brom, must make Sunderland more capable of securing the points when they turn up to play in front of their own fans.

DEFENSIVE DISASTERS

Twenty five goals in the first ten games: it’s a goalscoring record to be proud of. Unfortunately, though, that is the figure which Sunderland’s leaky defence has shipped already this season.

Eight of those matches have been in the Premier League and seven of the goals tally were in the Capital One Cup. Either way you look at it, Sunderland are not doing well at the back.

Allardyce has been quick to pinpoint that the defence is one of the earliest issues he needs to sort out and has even suggested he has plans to make sure he does. How is the big question?

It could mean giving the back four greater protection; changing the system to suit, or he could just ask the full-backs to be more defensively minded rather than operate as wingers.

Whatever he comes up with, he will have to make do with what he already has at his disposal until January.

The experienced Wes Brown, yet to play this season, could be reunited with John O’Shea at the back, particularly with Younes Kaboul struggling for form and Sebastian Coates suspended.

SAM’S HIRED HELPER

He has already made the calls and he could announce his new No 2 when he holds his first press conference at the Academy of Light on Tuesday afternoon. Former Sunderland boss Peter Reid is a close friend of his and has been considered, while Neil McDonald is his long term touchline side-kick.

Former Newcastle defender McDonald, however, is currently on a rolling contract at Blackpool, but Allardyce is desperate to get an assistant in before the trip to West Brom above everything else. That is the only planned change at this stage, although he is likely to make further changes down the line if things are going well and his relationship with the club is working positively.

He has always been renowned for his large backroom teams, taking his preferred staff to his different jobs with him. If he does not bring in his trusted lieutenants then his managerial style could actually take a different turn – and Sunderland will hope it is not for the worse.

WHO CAN BE SIGNED?

Kevin Nolan and Carlton Cole. Those two names have been strongly considered ever since Allardyce agreed to take over at the Stadium of Light on Friday.

The Northern Echo:
TARGET? Kevin Nolan

Both are free agents after leaving West Ham, so if the new boss wants a quick injection of new blood then he knows that both of those experienced players can provide that – and they could help to keep Sunderland up.

But Allardyce cannot rely on both of those to do the job and he knows that. That is why January will be a hugely important month for Sunderland, with expectations high that the 60-year-old will do some trademark dealing on the transfer front.

He has always wanted a big say on transfers at every club he has been at, so it could be that Lee Congerton’s sporting director position is not filled once he has served his notice. There would also be no surprises if Martin Glover, currently working at Leeds, is introduced to head up Sunderland’s scouting team at some stage.

STICK WITH THE SYSTEM?

Allardyce tends to play with two holding midfielders and three supporting players behind a lone striker. In that sense there is unlikely to be much change to the way the team set up under his watch because Advocaat has operated with a 4-2-3-1 more often than not.

What will change is the individual tasks which he gives to his players, but don’t expect them to be as open as they were under his predecessor.

There could still be a problem for Jermain Defoe to work his way in to the Sunderland starting line-up, particularly if Allardyce chooses to go down the route of a target-man like he has before with Andy Carroll and Kevin Davies.

Steven Fletcher, unless they sign Cole, looks the man most likely to benefit as things stand.