Coleman quit as Wales boss to take charge of the relegation-threatened Black Cats last month. 

And Welsh international Dave Edwards, who scored in Reading’s 3-1 win at Sunderland yesterday, believes he has the skills to get the Stadium of Light rocking. 

“I definitely think he will be successful at Sunderland,” Edwards said. 

“When he took the job I was quite surprised but it's a huge club and challenge that clearly excited him. Knowing the way he works he will be trying to take the pressure off the players.

“His biggest qualities are his man-management and tactics.

“His game-plans were very rarely wrong. He knew when to be calm and when to give you a kick up the backside, without shouting and bawling.”

Sunderland are in danger of suffering back-to-back relegations after a nightmare start to life in the Championship but Edwards believes Coleman faced a tougher challenge when he took charge of Wales. 

“It's a tough job but he's had tougher,” he told The Sun. “Sunderland were bottom when he took over. The only way's up.

“What he did for Wales as a football team and country is astonishing when you think of the circumstances when he took over.

“With Wales, he was inheriting a team that had been really successful under Gary Speed. 

“It was a really tough transition. Gary Speed was one of my heroes and was an amazing bloke. It was tragic we lost him.

“The first year it felt numb to everyone and it really put football into perspective. Credit to Chris. He brought us back from a very low point.

“There was so much pressure. Then he realised he needed to take a step back and do things his own way. To have the success he did was remarkable.”

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