Helping the bottom-of-the-table Black Cats avoid a relegation dogfight this season will be the sternest test yet of the burgeoning reputation Poyet has earned himself following a successful spell at Brighton.
Having rescued the club from League Two, Poyet left the Seagulls in an unrecognisable state to that which he found them in when he took over four years ago, with the club now plying their trade in the Championship in their plush new Amex Stadium.
Brighton were transformed not just off the pitch but on it too. Controlling the ball, making the pitch as wide as possible and dictating play from inside their own half were hallmarks of the possession-based ethos Poyet implemented. "If you have the ball, you can't lose,” was a mantra that reaped significant rewards and plaudits.
Poyet’s primary challenges will be to make his mark on the playing style and to shake off any lingering comparisons with the man he replaces, but the 45-year-old can certainly take heart from the way in which his new players have rallied around caretaker manager Kevin Ball.
