Martin O'Neill - two wins out of 21 approaching first anniversary at#SAFC. Has he still got the old magic? http://gu.com/p/3c8c7/tw
Why Sunderland are looking for a happy anniversary
The Guardian 
Sunderland travel to Norwich on Sunday, a day short of a year since Martin O'Neill, left, became manager. Photograph: Craig Brough/Action Images
It's going back a few years now but a story comes to mind from Leicester City that demonstrates how Martin O'Neill generally has a habit of coming out on top even in those moments, a little like now, when his ability to work wonders with a football team appears not quite as apparent as normal.
O'Neill was a historic appointment at Leicester. They were promoted in his first season, got to three League Cup finals and had a wonderful habit of outdoing richer and more illustrious opponents. Except the man behind it, revered as the finest manager the club has ever employed, never quite forgot what happened in his first couple of months before everything clicked into place, when the results were poor and letters arrived telling him he was everything from useless to worse.
He kept them in a drawer at the training ground in Belvoir Drive and every so often, in the weeks after Leicester's promotion, he would reach in, pull one out and look up the telephone number.
