Sunderland boss Paolo di Canio has told his players they'll earn their money under his reign.

The improvements he wants to make on the pitch will be backed-up by changes in attitude and discipline off it, and several offenders have already fallen foul of Di Canio's strict regime.

He said: "If you think that, not because they are bad guys, but in the last five days, I have given into my players' hands individually seven fines for silly things - seven, it has never happened before - for very bad things.

"Every Friday morning, there's a signing session upstairs, seven steps - one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, a table - and people forget.

"It is a rule in the contract - it is crucial for the club, for the people, children who, even if they can't see you, hope to have a shirt with 20 signatures - and you forget.

"It's not fair. It has happened many times, but they didn't get fined. Now they are fined because you have to start somewhere, otherwise we are never going to change.

"Small things like this become big problems. We have to respect the rules, otherwise we are never going to change.

"For some, it was easy, for a few of them. For many of them, it was and is still difficult because what I ask is very heavy for some of them.

"For me, it is normal; for John O'Shea, it is normal - he came from an environment [at Manchester United] where people used to throw away boots in people's faces, the best manager in the world - thanks Alex - if they didn't behave well."