MICK McCARTHY last night paid a warm tribute to Sunderland's fearless heroes that have come in from the cold to spearhead the club's promotion drive.

Of the 11 Black Cats players that began Tuesday's 3-2 win over Ipswich Town, none started more than 16 Premiership games for Sunderland last season.

And Gary Breen, Colin Healy and Jeff Whitley - new arrivals over the summer - were all peripheral figures at their respective clubs. Since McCarthy overhauled the squad, however, the likes of John Oster and Kevin Kyle have produced the best form of their Sunderland careers.

Sunderland meet Sheffield United, the early pacesetters in the First Division, at Bramall Lane today on the back of six wins in their last eight League games.

And McCarthy reckons his new-look team should not be scared of anyone after acquitting themselves well to the task of returning to the Premiership.

He said: "Sheffield United are a good team and are among the favourites to be promoted, but we're not going to fear them.

"Maybe some of our players had their noses pushed out of joint for a little while because they weren't involved much last season.

"The players that are playing now didn't play that much football last season and perhaps the season before.

"The point was made in the dressing room after one of the games that they're now playing two games a week, and physically it's extremely demanding because they haven't been doing it.

"But it's to their credit that they've all come in now and performed well.

"Go through the team that faced Ipswich: Julio Arca didn't play in all the games last season; neither did Mart Poom, George McCartney or Darren Williams, and John Oster certainly didn't.

"Colin Healy hardly played last year, except for internationals and the reserves, and Thomas Butler, Marcus Stewart and Kevin Kyle didn't play much.

"Stewart has been around for a long time and is used to the intensity of playing Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday, but not all the others are used to it.

"They might have come in for the odd game when somebody was injured, but I guess they're now relishing the chance to be involved all the time.

"It's tough for them, but someone like Julio is young but has still played in the Premier League for a couple of years, Gary Breen is used to it and George McCartney is a Northern Ireland international."

McCarthy is a rare breed among First Division managers - he likes Neil Warnock.

Warnock is among the most unpopular figures in the English game, with Burnley's Stan Ternent a sworn enemy of the Sheffield United boss.

But McCarthy has enjoyed a good relationship with Warnock ever since they played alongside each other at Barnsley in the 1970s.

McCarthy said: "We were only together for about a millisecond - I was only about 16 or 17 and Neil was a pro at the club - but we graced Barnsley's reserves and we got on great.

"He didn't wind me up at all, although I was too young to wonder whether he'd make a manager and I'm sure he didn't think I'd become one.

"You only need to look at his achievements wherever he's been to see he's done great.

"Historically, it's been tough for teams that miss out in the play-offs to come back and do well after the disappointment.

"But Neil's done very well, and he's managed to keep his players. They all seem to want to stay, which is nice.

"They've got a few players that people were looking at with envy last season and were thinking about taking to a higher level.

"But they've stuck around with Neil Warnock, so they've seen something to make them think they can get into the Premier League with Sheffield United."

* Sunderland have signed Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Alan Quinn on loan for three months, with striker Michael Reddy moving in the opposite direction.

Republic of Ireland international Quinn won't be included today, while Reddy could make his second Owls debut at Brentford after a spell at Hillsborough last season.

Meanwhile, Sunderland youngster Chris Brown has joined Third Division Doncaster on a one-month loan ahead of their home game with Bristol Rovers.

* Approximately 500 additional tickets will be made available to Sunderland supporters today.

These tickets will be available from the 'away' ticket office at Bramall Lane from noon, priced at £20 for adults and £12 for under 16's and senior citizens.

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