Former Sunderland defender Gary Bennett has commented on Paolo di Canio's demise.

BBC Radio Newcastle pundit Bennett admits the gamble of handing him the reins never really paid off.

Bennett said: "It hasn't paid off. From the start, everybody knew it was a gamble. It was one way or the other it was going to go.

"The question is are you surprised? Not really, you are not shocked.

"You look at the training regime - fair enough, if that's what you believe in, that's fine; discipline, you have got to have discipline, there's nothing wrong with that, but it's when you take it to the next step; and then you bring in 14 players.

"It always seems to be to the extreme. When you are disciplining three players, bringing in rules about what you can and can't do and who you can and can't speak to...

"Then I think there's only one game when he hasn't made a substitution at half-time. You can get away with it two or three times, but when it's every game near enough, you are thinking 'Why?'."