Sunderland defender Wes Brown says manager Martin O'Neill has worked wonders since his arrival.

Brown, back after a groin injury, admitted O'Neill had instilled self-belief following a torrid run of results.

He said: "The lads know they have the ability but sometimes you must tell them that.

"Steve Bruce was unlucky as we're the same players, but it's just we had a bad patch and it didn't work out.

"It is all about confidence and it was low.

"We were not winning too many games and you can get down a bit because of that. We needed a lift.

"That was maybe the type of game we'd have lost a couple of months ago.

"But we've won a few games now so, even when there was a lot of pressure on us, we defended well and made it difficult for Swansea.

"They are good at keeping the ball but our plan was to win it back and counter-attack."