ACCORDING to chairman Niall Quinn, Ellis Short is a “Godsend” who gives Sunderland “almost an antirelegation clause” next season.

Now, with the Irish-American assuming 100 per cent control at the Stadium of Light, it is the time for him to live up to his billing.

After appearing alongside Quinn for the last two matches of Sunderland’s fight for Premier League survival, the Texas-based billionaire took his first major steps into the public eye. Now there is no going back.

With a reputation for being a reluctant public figure, Short’s status has taken on a different slant. Being accused of moving the goalposts that led to Roy Keane’s departure in December raised his Premier League profile, but gaining full control of the club has given him a real platform to make a name for himself in the sporting world.

When Short and Quinn first met at the Ryder Cup at the K Club three years ago, he learned all about the plans which had been put in place for Sunderland. He was attracted, alerted and, ultimately, sold by Quinn’s vision for the club.

“He was immediately interested in the Sunderand story and what we were trying to achieve,” said Quinn. “He’s an avid sports fan and caught the football bug following his move to the UK ten years ago and is now a huge fan of the Premier League.”

Born in Independence, Missouri, Short might be an unfamiliar name in football but certainly needs no introduction to the world of hedge funds and industry.

He is the co-founder, along with John Grayken, of private equity firm Lone Star Funds and ran its Asia branch before retiring from the business.

Since then he has divided his time between Dallas and Britain, where he famously purchased Skibo Castle, the former home of industrialist Andrew Carnegie, in Scotland for £23m in 2003.

In the same year he was the subject of an arrest warrant over Lone Star’s $1.5bn purchase of the Korea Exchange Bank amid allegations of stock-market manipulation, although charges were eventually dropped against him and Lone Star’s general counsel Michael Thomson.

Since 1995 Lone Star have established funds worth more than $13.3bn and Short is considered so crucial to the operation that a key man clause allows investors to withdraw their funds without penalty if he leaves.

But while such acquisitions were high profile, neither were capable of propelling him to the global heights that becoming the majority shareholder of Sunderland could ultimately bring.

Quinn has previously outlined a determination to lead the Wearside club into the Premier League’s top ten and beyond and, while stopping short of making wild predictions, the ambitious chairman is in no doubt about the club’s potential with Short at the helm.

There appears to be no concrete valuation of Short’s worth, with some labelling him a multi-millionaire and others touting him as a billionaire.

Either way his bank balance is good for Sunderland.

“He doesn’t want to be patted on the back, he doesn’t want to be held up as some sort of hero,” said Quinn recently.

“I personally don’t think this club has ever had a chance like this before and might never have it again. I don’t really want to go championing him, but I would want to point out that people should know we are in good hands.”

While Short’s affection for Sunderland started after his trip to the Ryder Cup in 2006, it was not until last summer that he became involved when he agreed to assist the Drumaville consortium, who had bought out former chairman Bob Murray two years previous.

He took an initial 30 per cent stake in the club and agreed to fund the second half of Roy Keane’s hefty £80mplus investment in the squad, while also agreeing to meet a large part of a new contract being prepared for the Irishman.

The two-year deal was never finalised, but that only helped Short to lead industry leading reductions in the cost of all season tickets for thousands of fans, enabling under- 16s to buy a ticket for £19.

“Even before today he has personally invested more in Sunderland than all previous chairmen, directors and owners combined in the club’s history,”

said Quinn.

“Last summer he injected tens of millions of pounds to fund our new signings and the resultant increased wage bill.

“In going forward, as long as we invest the funds wisely, he will continue to provide what has been the missing ingredient in Sunderland’s make up, namely the financial muscle necessary to compete at the highest level.”