Alex Neil tells of his delight and confidence as Sunderland head coach appointment is confirmed

Alex Neil will take charge of Sunderland's game at AFC Wimbledon tomorrow after his appointment as head coach was confirmed by the club this evening.

The 40-year-old has signed a rolling 12-month contract with the club, and will be joined on Wearside by assistant head coach Martin Canning, who was a former teammate of Neil's at Hamilton Academical and also played under him there.

Neil agreed terms with the Black Cats on Thursday and took training at the Academy of Light on Friday morning, before travelling with the squad by train to London - with an image of the new boss wearing a club tracksuit circulating widely on social media during the afternoon.

There was a long wait for confirmation of his appointment from the club, but eventually it arrived at just after 8.40pm.

Neil said: "It is a privilege to be head coach of Sunderland AFC.

"Everything that I saw from the players this morning made me really confident and gave me belief, so what we now need to do is replicate that on a matchday – when it matters – under scrutiny and under pressure.

"Our task is to try and win as many games as we possibly can and at this moment in time we are focused on this season and this season alone."

Sporting director Kristjaan Speakman added: "“Throughout his career, Alex has demonstrated that he can make an immediate and lasting impact.

"He expressed a clear vision on how he wants to take the team forward, which strongly aligns with our core principals, and we firmly believe that he can influence performances and results in the short term.

"We are grateful to our supporters for their patience throughout what has undoubtedly been a challenging period and thank Mike Dodds and Michael Proctor for overseeing our first-team programme in the