Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy has backed Sam Allardyce to be a success at Sunderland.
The 61-year-old replaced Dick Advocaat in October following the Black Cats' failure to win any of their opening eight Premier League matches of the season.
McCarthy, who managed Sunderland for three years, believes that Allardyce is the right man to help the club avoid relegation from the top flight and deliver security after his bright start to life at the Stadium of Light.
He told Sky Sports' Goals on Sunday: "It's a difficult job [considering] where they were when he picked them up. And two wins back-to-back [against Crystal Palace and Stoke], which is remarkable actually when you're in that position.
"I think he just gets the best out of players, he knows how to organise them. Yes they've had a defeat [against Arsenal] but he's happy with the performance, and he's probably thinking 'if we play like that every week we'll pick up points'.
"Don't start panicking because you've lost to Arsenal, it's the other games you're going to have to pick up points. He'll make them hard to beat, and not nice to play against, and there'll be some complaining about it, but he wins matches and he's a success."
Sunderland dropped back into the relegation zone as a result of their defeat to Arsenal on Saturday.
Simon Sinclair
