SAM ALLARDYCE has pledged to bring “stability and success” to Sunderland after agreeing to become the club’s new manager.

Allardyce became the first person in history to manage both Sunderland and Newcastle United when he signed a two-year contract to succeed Dick Advocaat at the Stadium of Light last night.

Having initially been reluctant to return to management following his departure from West Ham in the summer, Allardyce was eventually persuaded to take over on Wearside after a day of frantic negotiations between his representatives and Sunderland owner Ellis Short.

Short has agreed to a range of concessions in order to make Allardyce Sunderland’s eighth permanent manager in the course of the last eight years.

The statement that confirmed the 60-year-old’s appointment described him as a “manager” rather than a “head coach”, and yesterday’s developments effectively signal the end of Short’s attempts to introduce a continental model of management overseen by a powerful footballing director.

Allardyce will have a wide-ranging remit as he attempts to end a cycle of failure that has seen Sunderland battling against relegation in each of the last three seasons, and while the 60-year-old accepts he has inherited a difficult situation with the Black Cats already five points adrift of safety, he is confident of being able to engineer a turnaround.

“I have enjoyed my break from football and now I’m raring to get back,” said Allardyce, who presided over 24 games in charge of Newcastle between May 2007 and January 2008, and made 25 appearances for Sunderland as a player in the 1980-81 season.

“I met with Ellis and we spoke at length about the club and his ambitions, and I knew I wanted to be part of that. I hope to be able to help to bring the stability and success that everyone wants.

“Of course it’s a challenging job, but it’s something I have experience of in the past. I’m looking forward to working with the players, and of course I will be relying on the help of the Sunderland supporters, whose tremendous passion I have experienced first hand. I can’t wait to get started.”

Allardyce is understood to have signed a contract worth around £2.5m-a-year, and has been promised a substantial ‘survival bonus’ which will be paid if he is able to keep the Black Cats in the Premier League this season.

He has signed a two-year deal, but successfully argued for clauses that will enable him to leave the Stadium of Light if Sunderland drop into the Championship next May.

With Lee Congerton set to leave his position as sporting director after submitting his notice last month, Allardyce will be granted considerable control over transfer matters.

He has already been linked with a possible move for former Newcastle and West Ham skipper Kevin Nolan, who is still out of contract after leaving Upton Park at the end of last season.

He will be given the green light to bring in his own backroom staff, with former Newcastle defender Neil McDonald, who worked alongside him at Blackburn and West Ham and who is currently the boss of League One side Blackpool, and scout Martyn Glover, who is the head of recruitment at Leeds United, set to be offered prominent roles in the new set-up.

His first game will be at West Brom a week today, with his first home game as Sunderland boss pitting him against Newcastle United in the Wear-Tyne derby. Remarkably, he becomes the fourth Sunderland manager in a row whose second game in charge is a derby game with the Magpies. His three predecessors all recorded victories.

His arrival is a notable success for Short, with the Black Cats owner having identified Allardyce as his preferred choice at an early stage of the recruitment process and remained committed to that decision despite the much-travelled manager’s initial reluctance to consider a return to the North-East. In the end, Short’s persistence has paid dividends.

Allardyce spent most of last week on holiday in Spain, and has agreed to return to management despite the imminent release of a new autobiography. Having committed to a number of promotional dates, it remains to be seen how he combines his book duties with his new role at Sunderland.

“I am very pleased to welcome Sam to our football club,” said Short. “Sunderland is a club he knows well, and he was the obvious best choice for the job. He has vast experience of managing in the Premier League, and an understanding first hand of the North-East and the passion of our fans, which will stand him in great stead.

“I would like to assure our fans that once Dick made us aware of his intention to leave, Lee Congerton oversaw an organised and structured recruitment process that bore very little resemblance to what has been described in the media.

“For example, this was a very popular job, proactively sought after by a large number of managers – contrary to much of what has been portrayed. The process was made easier by the fact that Sam was such an obvious choice.”