Cuellar falls for O'Neill factor

Sunderland new boy Carlos Cuellar has revealed his desire to work with Martin O'Neill again helped persuade him to head for Wearside.

The 30-year-old Spanish defender has signed a two-year deal at the Stadium of Light after his contract at Aston Villa expired, and was delighted to renew his acquaintance with the man who first brought him to England from Rangers. O'Neill, then manager at Villa, paid around £8million for the Madrid-born player during the summer of 2008, and was quick to snap him up for a second time when the opportunity arose. Cuellar told SAFC TV: "Ever since I heard the rumour that Sunderland were interested in signing me, I wanted to come here. "To work again with the gaffer, Martin O'Neill, and with everyone talking so well about the club, I didn't have any problem and said straight away I wanted to come. "He is so clever, he knows everyone very well and knows how to push everyone to get 100 per cent out of them. He gets the best from every player and brings them together to make his teams very competitive."