Sunderland skipper John O'Shea admits the club's managerial upheaval has been "strange".
Gus Poyet is the fourth manager he has played under on Wearside, following Steve Bruce, Martin O'Neill and Paolo Di Canio.
And that after only one boss - Sir Alex Ferguson - in all of O'Shea's time at Manchester United.
He said: "I'll be honest, it was strange.
"I was very fortunate as for the main part of my career I had one manager.
"But when you look at other clubs, it happens regularly.
"It's been a rollercoaster here - the classic cliche. There was a change near the end of last season.
"Then there was a change so early this season. Thankfully, the manager was able to come in and settle things quite quickly.
"It's nothing particularly special, it's just his idea - and that of the team around him - of how they want to do things.
"At the moment, it looks like there's a bit of slow progress and we're heading in the right direction.
"If we could win a trophy, it would be amazing. But there's a big obstacle."
