Sam Allardyce is delighted with the response of Sunderland fans to his appointment.

Big Sam did not have a good relationship with the fans at his previous club West Ham.

And there could have been an adverse reaction on Wearside as he is a former Newcastle boss.

But Allardyce said: “I have been so pleased by the response from the fans.

“From the moment my appointment was announced they have been so positive and it's made me feel great before I even set foot in the club and start the job.

“Sunderland is a fantastic club with fabulous supporters and I'm really looking forward to the challenge of improving results and keeping Sunderland in the Premier League.

“The first objective is to appoint an assistant manager, which I hope to do fairly quickly – but I don't anticipate making too many changes to the staff at this point."