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Paolo Di Canio defends record at Sunderland and insists he should have got more time

WEST BROMWICH, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 21:  Paolo Di Canio, manager of Sunderland gestures at the end of the Barclays Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland at The Hawthorns on September 21, 2013 in West Bromwich, England.  (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images)
Image: Paolo Di Canio: 'I feel that my time at the club has been unfairly cut short'

Paolo Di Canio has defended his tenure at Sunderland and insists he should have been given more time after a troubled start to the season.

Sunderland defender John O'Shea stated over the weekend that several players had made a stand to call for Di Canio to lose his job as manager at the Stadium of Light. Asked if Sunderland's players felt something needed to be done about Di Canio's regime, O'Shea told the Shields Gazette: "That was obviously done. But we have to move on now. "Because of the position we're in in the league, we can't keep going back to it. "We've got some difficult months ahead. "Whoever comes in, whether it's Bally (Kevin Ball) or a new manager, we've got tough times ahead. "We have to stick together and if we keep going back to it, it'll soon be too hard to pull back from where we are." Interim boss Ball is to remain in charge of Sunderland for Saturday's Premier League clash with Manchester United. O'Shea has given his backing to Ball, saying: "He's been fantastic. Everything is fairly straightforward. You know exactly where you lie with Bally and the players have enjoyed it. "Hopefully that will continue but we'll wait and see."

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