Sunderland have announced the appointment of Chris Coleman as their new manager following the departure of Simon Grayson almost three weeks ago with the club bottom of the Championship.
Coleman 'over the moon' with new role
The Black Cats chose to part company with Grayson after he amassed just one league win in 15 league games, and former Wales boss Coleman has left his post as his country's manager to succeed the Englishman on a two-and-a-half-year deal.
The Welshman told safc.com that "it’s an honour to be appointed the manager of Sunderland AFC" and added that he is "over the moon that the club believes I am the right man."
Coleman revealed that the club "worked incredibly hard to make sure we were a good fit" and that CEO Martin Bain and Ellis Short worked to "show me the potential that can be achieved here."
He went on to say that he believes that "every person at this football club...has a part to play in getting us back to where we belong."
The new boss took his first training session at the Academy of Light on Sunday morning and will enter the dugout for his first game against Aston Villa on Tuesday evening.
Welshman "the clear first choice" for Sunderland
Bain also spoke to safc.com following the announcement, saying that the club "conducted a thorough process over the last three weeks" in order to find the right man for the job and revealed that "before and after which Chris was the clear first choice."
The Scotsman added that the club are "delighted that he and Kit Symons, his assistant manager, have joined us" with the main focus for the imminent future being to guide the club "in the right direction."
Coleman's biggest managerial achievement came at Euro 2016 when he guided Wales to the semi-finals of the tournament, where they lost to eventual winners Portugal.
In club football he has enjoyed spells with Fulham, Real Sociedad, Coventry City and most recently Greek side AEL FC during the 2011/12 season, before spending six years as Wales boss.