O'Neill respects Wenger despite previous spats (From The Northern Echo)

O'Neill respects Wenger despite previous spats

8:00am Saturday 11th February 2012 in Sport By Scott Wilson

HE might have had some explosive encounters with Arsene Wenger in the past, but Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill insists he has the utmost respect for the Arsenal boss' achievements ahead of the pair's latest meeting at the Stadium of Light this afternoon.

Sunderland entertain the Gunners twice in a week, and while there are three Premier League points and a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals at stake, much of the attention over the two matches will focus on the figures in the technical area.

Their tempestuous relationship stretches back to the 2008-09 campaign, when they had to be separated on the Villa Park touchline after Wenger accused O'Neill's then number two, John Robertson, of attempting to influence the referee.

The following season, O'Neill reacted furiously to Wenger's assertion that he had built an Aston Villa team based on physicality and route one football in the wake of a fractious goalless draw.

At the time, O'Neill said: “He talks about teams going out deliberately to kick them. Nobody does that. You can get carried away with your own importance, you really can. Sometimes he does that. He has made a great contribution to the game here, but he is not on a different planet.

“There is not a subject in this world, political, religious – anything – that he does not have an opinion on. I really don't mind, I just don't want it shoved down my throat.”

Today's match pits them against each other again, but O'Neill has played down suggestions that he has no time for Wenger, widely regarded as one of the greatest Premier League managers of the last two decades, but a figure who has been criticised by his own supporters recently as he struggles to secure qualification for next season's Champions League.

“My own view is that you have to look at what he's achieved at Arsenal and it's phenomenal,” said O'Neill yesterday. “He's been a great, great manager, there's no question about that, even though I don't always see eye to eye with him. But then I don't think he always sees eye to eye with anyone.

“Arsenal have been terrific over the years. Of course he'd like to add a trophy or two, but winning trophies is not always a guideline. They've qualified every single year for the Champions League and that's great consistency. It has been a splendid time for Arsenal and he has been one of the great managers in modern football.”

O'Neill is not quite held in that acclaim yet, but the Northern Irishman has bolstered a reputation that was already exalted thanks to his achievements in his first two months as Sunderland boss.

The Black Cats have won nine of their 13 matches under his control, a run of results that has already secured the former Leicester and Celtic boss hero status on Wearside.

Getting off to a winning start can be crucial in terms of setting the tone of a manager's tenure, and there is no doubt that Wenger's previous achievements have immunised him from more serious criticism about Arsenal's lack of recent success.

“He (Wenger) won something very early, which is important,” said O'Neill. “Winning matches, then trophies, is important. It gives you strength and, as Sir Alex Ferguson once said, it gives you that power around the club. That stops rumblings as well.

“He's earned that time to do the job because he won consistently and has won well, so he's been able to develop the team.”

O'Neill is still in the early stages of developing his own team, with Wednesday's FA Cup replay win over Middlesbrough representing another important staging post on an upward curve that shows no signs of stopping.

Sunderland were pushed to the limit by a spirited Boro side, but Stephane Sessegnon's fourth goal in eight matches secured a first appearance in the fifth round for eight seasons.

Sessegnon has been the Black Cats' key performer under O'Neill, and having suffered cramp in the latter stages of Wednesday's win, it is hoped the Benin international will be fit enough to maintain his ever-present record for the season this afternoon.

“I didn't really know a great deal about him when I came,” said O'Neill. “I obviously watched him on TV and he's got really great talent. He's very strong for one so small, and he gives us that different ingredient to cause teams problems.

“He'll wriggle out of some situation that's hard to do so, and suddenly he's bearing down on goal and has a bit of confidence. It's not always the case he'll do something with the ball, but he'll give it a go. He's not looked back since scoring that goal against QPR after running from the halfway line and sticking it into the net.”