O'Neill vows to hang on to stars

Sunderland boss Martin O'Neill is determined to hang on to his key players as he plans a bright future on Wearside.

O'Neill is yet to sit down with owner and chairman Ellis Short to discuss his summer rebuilding plans, and expects to do so as the current season draws to a close.

While he knows in which areas he would like to strengthen, he told the Sunderland Echo: "I'm happy to say the owner agrees with me that we want to keep our very best players at the club because we are looking to build something here and move forward."

Copyright (c) PA Sport 2012, All Rights Reserved.