QUIZZED by an anxious pal on a North-east evening paper back in March 1995, I confidently predicted Sunderland would not only escape relegation but would prosper after appointing Peter Reid as their new manager.

They were struggling at the bottom of the second tier at the time and in desperate need of someone to stop a rot that threatened to see them relegated to the third. They duly survived and a year later were promoted to the Premier League as champions.

Today Reid, pictured, faces another challenge – arguably the toughest of his managerial career – as he attempts to keep Plymouth in the Football League against a backdrop of financial chaos.

Rock bottom of League Two, Argyle faced a potentially disastrous player strike last weekend until the administrators paid 40 per cent of their September wages.

Hardly surprising after a week of turmoil, they lost 2-1 at Burton Albion.

But Reid vowed to turn things round and give the supporters a team to be proud of.

Having seen at close quarters how Reid recovered from serious injury in his Bolton Wanderers days to win 13 England caps, including appearances at the World Cup in Mexico, I am as confident today as I was 16 years ago that he will deliver on his promise.