STEVE COTTERILL sees himself as Sunderland's manager in waiting - but he won't wait for ever.

Cotterill resigned from the hot-seat at Stoke to become Howard Wilkinson's right-hand man on Wearside.

And he joked: "It's my ambition to eventually become the manager of Sunderland - I just hope Howard doesn't go on as long as Bobby Robson at Newcastle, because I'm not going to hang around that long!''

Cotterill, 38, is one of only a dozen coaches in the country to attain the UEFA Pro Licence, the top qualification in Europe and the brainchild of Wilkinson himself.

Rising star Cotterill caught Wilkinson's eye as he guided home-town club Cheltenham from the Dr Martens League to the Second Division before joining Stoke in May.

"I have to adjust to being a No 2,'' admitted Cotterill. "I have been a manager for six or seven years.

"But this is a fantastic opportunity for me. They don't come much bigger than Sunderland. I have mixed emotions about leaving Stoke. I only had a short time there after five-and-a-half years at Cheltenham.

"But that was eclipsed when I had the chance to come to Sunderland.''

Cotterill conceded: "I haven't managed to look at many tapes of Sunderland, but I saw Matt Piper play when he had a loan spell at Mansfield and he ran his legs off that night.

"I know Niall Quinn because we had the same knee operation and had a few chats about that. I also know Jody Craddock from his days at Cambridge.''

Wilkinson watched Cotterill's progress with keen interest. "I was aware that Steve was becoming an overnight success at Cheltenham, and he came on the Pro Licence, which is an intense year-long course,'' said Wilkinson.

"Steve has been at the cutting edge and he has ideas - I didn't want a yes man. He's enthusiastic and ambitious. I know it will be a very successful partnership.

"I've known Steve for the last 15 months. I knew probably six or nine months ago that he was going to go on to become a very successful manager.

"I also knew that if I ever needed staff, Steve would be top of my list.

"We're a management team, but I'm the manager and the buck stops with me.''

Wilkinson added: "We can build on a tremendous football culture here. There's a great deal of emotion about the place and the fans.

"It's a fantastic stadium, but they can still remember football-supporting old style, so we have to plug into that.''

In leaving the post of FA technical director, Wilkinson has made a similar move to Gerard Houllier, who relinquished the same post in his native France to take charge of Liverpool.

"I know Gerard very well and I hope I'm as successful here as he has been at Liverpool,'' said Wilkinson.

"I think my time at the FA has given me the opportunity to take a step back and have a broader look at things.''