AS Yorkshiremen go, they don't come much more plain speaking than Mick McCarthy.

The former Republic of Ireland manager's roots lie west of the Irish Sea, and it was in Barnsley where he learned to speak his mind.

The FA Cup fifth round tie at the Stadium of Light on Saturday provided Sunderland with the perfect chance to measure their progress since relegation from the Premiership.

The visit of Birmingham City was the first time McCarthy could see the side he has moulded up against top-flight opposition.

Well was it the best performance he'd seen against a Premiership side?

The memories from last season are obviously still fresh in McCarthy's mind.

Memories of becoming the Black Cats' boss then seeing his new charges lose nine Premiership games in a row.

"It wouldn't have been hard to be the best performance against a Premier League team because we were sPPPe for nine of them when I arrived," was McCarthy's blunt and honest opinion.

"To be fair we were. The results were and the performances were.

"People keep asking how far have you come?

"That's indicative of the turnaround in performances - how players are now more confident on the field."

That confidence was very much in evidence on Saturday. Sunderland more than matched their Premier League opponents, who were happy to have the chance to take the Wearsiders back to the West Midlands.

Not quite ready for the Premiership, but well on their way.

McCarthy said: "I thought it was a very good performance. It was a game we could have won.

"In the first half I thought we were by far the better side.

"You'd expect the Premier League side to have a fair percentage of the game and I think in the second half it was a bit more even.

"We hit the crossbar but I don't think either keeper was peppered with shots.

"You can't say we could do that every week in the Premier League. Who knows?

"But against a Premier League side who I think will finish mid-table or above it ranks as a very good performance."

Back in 1973 in the fifth round of the FA Cup, Second Division Sunderland held Manchester City of the old First Division at Maine Road before winning the replay 3-1.

It would be a fitting tribute to the late Bob Stokoe if the class of 2004 could repeat the feat at St Andrew's on February 25.

The tributes to Stokoe, whose funeral took place last week, were led on Saturday by Jim Montgomery.

The Sunderland hero of the Cup final win over Leeds United 31 years ago carried the trophy on to the pitch ahead of the moment's silence before kick-off.

The spirit of 73 was in evidence all around the Stadium of Light, and McCarthy was more than happy to tap into that.

"We watched a tape of the 1973 Cup run on the coach on the way to the ground," said McCarthy.

"It shows you what can be done by a team that is not supposed to go on and win it.

"Whether it inspired the players I don't know."

Tyneside-born Steve Bruce was also very aware of the occasion.

"I'm a Newcastle fan so I know all about Bob Stokoe. If you're a football fan it doesn't matter where you're from, you know about Stokoe and Sunderland winning the Cup in 1973.

"Perhaps his memory lifted Mick McCarthy's players."

What may have also lifted the players was the return of inspirational centre-back Gary Breen, missing since November with a knee injury, in place of Phil Babb.

McCarthy didn't stop there with the changes, Marcus Stewart and John Oster coming in at the expense of Tommy Smith and Paul Thirlwell.

Breen was straight into the action with two towering headers in the first few minutes, but the first real chance fell to the visitors on five minutes. Bryan Hughes skipped down the left of the box and delivered a cross to Clinton Morrison, who could find no power in his overhead kick.

Sunderland's first shot on target came soon afterwards. The move appeared straight from the Whitburn training ground with Oster's corner delivered to Jason McAteer on the edge of box. But his low fizzing effort was comfortably saved by Maik Taylor.

The home side's belief they were more than a match for their Premiership rivals grew, but just before the half hour a piece of sublime skill brought them crashing back to earth

A header from Stan Lazaridis found Morrison, who laid it into the path of Mikael Forssell.

The Finn, on loan from Chelsea, held off Jeff Whitley and his nimble feet allowed him to turn inside Breen and produce a deft finish that left Mart Poom with no chance.

Far from being deflated, the Wearsiders were soon back in the ascendancy, and back in the game.

An excellent move saw McAteer feed George McCartney on the left.

The Northern Ireland international released Stewart in the inside left position and his near post cross was expertly headed in by Kevin Kyle.

Sunderland could have won the game after the break when Stephen Wright's speculative volley hit the bar, and Oster fired wide following good work from Whitley.

The second half was a far more physical affair, with the introductions of Christophe Dugarry and Aliou Cisse helping to add some spice to proceedings.

Both were booked for dissent before the Senegal international received his second yellow card for a crude challenge on Julio Arca.

At first it appeared that referee Graham Barber had missed the foul, but the Hertfordshire official was merely waiting for the ball to go dead before dismissing Cisse.

Mr Barber's delay had McCarthy believing he'd missed the foul. A splattering of what appeared to be industrial language was directed toward the referee.

His decision to caution Cisse a second time brought a halt to the Sunderland manager's plain speaking. Temporarily, at least.

Result: Sunderland 1 Birmingham City 1.

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