Sunderland boss Martin O'Neill has hit back at Alan Shearer after the Newcastle United legend said the Ulsterman faced the sack.

Shearer has joined O'Neill's critics but the Irishman has the full support of owner Ellis Short and the board.

O'Neill said: "I don't want to sound boastful, but not only am I the best man for the job but the only one.

"I once really doubted myself before I sat my 11-plus - honestly. I didn't know whether I was going to pass it or not, but then I was only seven at the time. And I did pass it.

"Criticism is part of the game. I think it's an easy thing to point to, so what do you do? Put someone else in charge, give him 12-13 games and he can't win any matches? We will steer it through, get calmer waters ahead and then we will see what sort of job I have done.

"We have to win some games. I have said it before. I came in last season and we won some games, some of which I probably didn't have any right to, and some things may level themselves out."

O'Neill, meanwhile, laughed off the assessment of Shearer, a former BBC colleague, who has said Sunderland were a team who looked doomed to stay in the relegation zone.

O'Neill said: "It really doesn't worry me what Alan says. You lose games and you get fired at. He is a pundit. I have been there myself during European evenings and given a trivial amount back. I usually try to give someone criticism that I will never see again in my life - such as somebody playing for Inner Mongolia."