AMID all the furore that has surrounded Paolo Di Canio's appointment as Sunderland manager, one issue has been somewhat overlooked. Forget all the talk of fascism and past political statements, just how big a gamble has Ellis Short taken by appointing someone who has never managed in England's top two leagues?

Having sacked Martin O'Neill, Short could have played it safe. Mark Hughes, Roberto Di Matteo, Steve McClaren and Alan Curbishley are all out-of-work managers who boast extensive Premier League experience. It's safe to assume all four would have jumped at the chance of a job at the Stadium of Light.

Instead, Short plucked out his wild card, a volatile, idiosyncratic 45-year-old whose only previous experience of managing in this country came with Swindon Town.

Di Canio won the League Two title at the County Ground and led the Robins to the top of League One, but his reign was littered with controversies and he eventually left claiming financial promises had not been kept.

He rowed with his own players, most notably Leon Clarke, who was sold after he became embroiled in a furious row with Di Canio on the touchline during a game. He substituted his goalkeeper after just 20 minutes, claiming he was “the worst player he'd ever seen”, and strayed over the line of physical violence on more than one occasion in an unorthodox attempt to elicit the best from his squad.

Is that really the type of figure to turn Sunderland's season around? Di Canio's reign has hardly started perfectly, but there are still sufficient signs to suggest Short's almighty gamble could yet pay off.

With just seven games of the season remaining, more of the same would almost certainly have seen the Black Cats relegated. That was why O'Neill was dismissed, and Sunderland's performances in the last three or four matches have been those of a side slipping inexorably towards the Championship.

Short suspected as much when he watched his side lose at QPR, and his concerns were intensified by the subsequent performances against Norwich and Manchester United. The owner concluded something radical had to change, and if nothing else, Di Canio's arrival should haul Sunderland's players out of the comfort zone they have been inhabiting for far too long.

The Italian has been in his position less than a week, yet staff and players alike talk of a radical transformation in a range of areas of the training regime.

Take running, for example. Sunderland's players have been doing rather a lot of it, indeed on Di Canio's first full day of training, the first-team squad ran for an hour without seeing a football. According to Di Canio's mantra, hard work pays off.

Days off? Sunderland's new manager has told his players not to expect very many, if any, between now and the end of the season. Time is of the essence and he does not want to waste a second.

Diet is something else Di Canio likes to control, and one of the first rules he introduced this week was a ban on sauces on the players' food in the Academy of Light canteen. One of his former charges at Swindon speaks of a pre-season tour last summer when he even banned butter and spread from his squad's toast at breakfast. In the pursuit of improvement, no stone is left unturned.

The key question is whether all of this will have the desired effect of transforming Sunderland's season. Footballers, particularly ones plying their trade in the Premier League, do not always take well to being told what to do and having their free time curtailed.

But in terms of having an instant impact, Di Canio's shock therapy could be just what the Black Cats need. In the same way that Roy Keane's hardline methods brought about an instant improvement in results when he took over on Wearside, perhaps Di Canio's approach will bear fruit immediately.

It is debatable whether such attitudes are sustainable over time. There are some big-name players in Sunderland's dressing room who will quickly grow tired of being treated like children.

For now, though, the next seven games are all that matter. And while Di Canio could hardly have wished for a tougher start than Chelsea and Newcastle away, his brash and authoritarian approach might just have given him the best possible chance of securing an immediate response.

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CHAMP OF THE WEEK

ANDY MURRAY

The reigning US Open champion moved up to number two in the world after beating David Ferrer in the final of the Miami Masters. A top-two ranking should increase the likelihood of an easier passage at the Grand Slams.

CHUMP OF THE WEEK

ELLIS SHORT

The Sunderland owner clearly failed to foresee the media storm that engulfed his club in the wake of Paolo Di Canio's appointment. Surely, given Di Canio's well-publicised past, he should have anticipated the negative headlines?

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK

SPENNYMOOR TOWN MAKING IT TO WEMBLEY

They'd already done the hard work by winning 3-1 in Guernsey, but Spennymoor finished things off in style as they won the second leg of their FA Vase semi-final 1-0 to set up a trip to Wembley next month.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Tomorrow's Grand National is the biggest betting race of the year, and it's always good to give yourself a couple of chances. Colbert Station (11-1) is my idea of the likeliest winner, although the booking of Tony McCoy means its price will continue to contract. I also think Teaforthree (16-1) is nailed on to be in the first four.