THE man asked to step in and fill the void left by the sacked Mick McCarthy has warned officials up and down the country that a bungee rope could be needed to stop him from playing a part in Sunderland's final ten games.

There are managers who prefer to sit in the stands and take stock of the action from above. There are others who prefer to hide in the dug-out and remain thoughtful.

So what for Kevin Ball, as he leads bottom club Sunderland towards the final hurdle following the departure of Mick McCarthy?

"I honestly don't know," said Ball, a gritty and combative midfielder for the Black Cats during nine years before retiring in 1999.

Anyone who knew him as a player would presume he would resemble a Stuart Pearce-type: kicking every ball, jumping for every header and contesting every decision.

Those who have known him as a coach at youth level would predict similar.

"I won't know until I'm getting ready on Saturday morning whether it will be tracksuit manager or my best suit, knowing me my initial reaction would be to say I'll be down in the technical area," said Ball, who has been coaching Sunderland's Under-18s.

"They'll have to put me on a bit of bungee rope as I'll be out there otherwise playing, so I think it will be a tracksuit but that could change.

"With the youth team the linesman has said to me to get back in my area, but there's other games where I've sat in the dugout. Each game is different for me.

"You walk forward to say something from the technical area and they'd want to yank me back.

"I'm always walking forward to talk to players. I'll have to wait and see what happens, I might not want to say anything, who knows?"

Having been installed as caretaker boss on Monday, after McCarthy revealed the news to the players that had worked under him, Ball allowed the playing staff to have Tuesday off to evaluate what had happened in the previous 24 hours.

Even now, with a vital fixture with Wigan just hours away at the Stadium of Light, the Wearside favourite admits he still has to pinch himself to believe what has happened is real.

"Has it sunk in yet, no? I came in on Monday as Under-18 coach and now I'm in this position," he said.

"This is not something I thought would happen when I gave my missus a kiss goodbye.

"I won't allow it to change me and I'll take it in my stride. We have to move on after being upset about Mick and I'm looking forward to waking up on Saturday morning and saying let's go for it."

Despite the enormous affection the Sunderland squad had for McCarthy, Ball has been impressed by the way they have responded on the training field this week to the change at the top.

The 41-year-old, still adored by the Wearside faithful, took them for the third successive day with reserve team coach Kevin Richardson yesterday and expects a difficult week to be forgotten about once the action starts this afternoon.

McCarthy failed to win any of his Premiership home games after taking over from Howard Wilkinson almost three years ago, so it would be hugely ironic if that elusive victory at the Stadium of Light arrived at the expense of Wigan.

Ball said: "Training was fine this week and I'd expect that. It's not about the manager it's about the players. Who is the manager a lot of the time is irrelevant.

"You've just got to carry on as normal and I can't do it all on my own. As professional footballers you can't lay down the law to them.

"All I did was speak to them and they know what's expected of them."

After learning he had been appointed in the caretaker management role on Monday, Ball went home and later that night witnessed Wigan lose out to Manchester United in the dying stages.

Despite the defeat the Latics, who finished second behind Sunderland in the Championship last season, are tenth and 30 points ahead of their North-East counterparts.

And Ball, who refused to be drawn on why he thought the two clubs had suffered such a huge difference in fortunes this season, has been mightily impressed by the work done by manager Paul Jewell.

"I went home Monday night and I told my wife I was going to watch Wigan play on the telly," said Ball, who has Andy Gray and Chris Brown available for selection again after injury.

"Wigan were unlucky and that might inspire them to do better, we have to concentrate on ourselves. You probably tend to watch games as a supporter but you take more of an in depth look and I made a few notes. You have to admire what they've done.

"Paul's a fine manager and he's been involved in management a little bit longer than me, he's a breed of manager we need and we're both passionate people looking to get a result on Saturday."

Wigan, though, are without a win in eight games and that run dates back to their 3-2 triumph at Middlesbrough on January 21.

Terry Venables is now 7-1 with Pagebet for the Sunderland job. He was 33s at the start of the week. Niall Quinn is favourite at 7/4.

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