I relish the challenge ahead here at Sunderland. It is clear to me that this is a club with a proud tradition, huge and faithful support and in the Stadium of Light and academy, facilities that will be second to none.

The biggest challenge is figuring out how to get gear together and keep working. It's more about the stuff that's irreplaceable, like the master recordings. It's hard to book gigs with no promotional material. It's very complex. I imagine it's that way for every walk of life. There's just so many far reaching effects from something like this.

Gary Speed was honourable, trustworthy and a joy to manage. He was honest, he was a role model and he was a great bloke. An avid learner, he recognised responsibility and he was always fully committed.

The chairmen of the largest companies in the world can cancel an appointment or move a board meeting; a manager cannot change the date of a game. In the combined 42 years that Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have managed in English football, I can only remember one occasion when Sir Alex did not attend a Manchester United game.

If they hadn't scored, we would've won

I am a firm believer that if you score one goal the other team have to score two to win.