In his first major public statement since his firing from Sunderland, Paolo Di Canio defended his tenure at the club, claiming he should have been given more time.
“When I joined the club last season with the aim of saving them from relegation I was happy to be offered the opportunity to manage in the Premier League,” Di Canio said in a written statement to Sky Sports News.
“I walked into a challenging situation but achieved what I was asked to do, the highlight of which was the fantastic performance and win against Newcastle, which is something I will always remember.
“When you bring in 14 new players, many from overseas and very few with Premiership experience it is going to take time for them to adapt to the English game and to gel as a team. As I have said many times, I love English football and I feel that my time at the club has been unfairly cut short as given the chance, I am certain that had I been allowed longer, I would have been able to develop the team to achieve the success Sunderland fans desire.
“There has been a lot written in the media in recent days, much of it wholly untrue. There was no training ground bust-up as some are reporting and many of the players have since sent me messages thanking me for my time as their manager and helping them to improve as footballers.
“We could see that results had not gone as well as any of us had hoped, but I felt as a team we could turn things around.
“I remain confident in my ability and I want to manage again in England as soon as I can. When things like this happen it is important to take something positive from it. I have learnt a lot from my brief time at Sunderland and I am sure that this will only make me a better manager in my next job.
“Even though my time at the club ended prematurely, I would like to thank Sunderland for giving me my first opportunity to be a Premier League manager.”
According to John O’Shea, the Italian manager was ousted from his post after several players made a stand following the 3-0 defeat to West Brom on September 21st. The players stood up to Di Canio during a training ground meeting the following day and later revolted by going to the club’s hierarchy and complaining about the Italian’s style of management.
Few will show Di Canio sympathy over his termination or agree with the 45-year-old that he deserved more time. His barbaric training regime and refusal to allow everything from mobile phones to ice inside of cola, wore his player’s spirits thin. Not to mention the public humiliation they suffered when Di Canio would call players out by name during press conferences.
And while it is true that Di Canio had 14 new players – many of whom were brought in by Sunderland’s Director of Football, Roberto De Fanti – his squad’s poor record was only one reason for his firing. In this situation it was clear that his poor treatment of the players around him, and the ensuing low morale it caused, trumped any sensitivity he should be afforded because of new personnel.
