Blackburn Rovers v SunderlandMARTIN O'NEILL admits he could not have dreamt of the thrilling conclusion to the season which could lie ahead for Sunderland the day he arrived on Wearside.

The 60-year-old Ulsterman launched his reign with a hard-fought 2-1 Premier League victory over Blackburn Rovers on December 11th to spark a revival which has assumed ever more impressive proportions as the months have passed.

O’Neill heads for Ewood Park for the reverse fixture tonight with Sunderland sitting ninth, and a replay away from booking an FA Cup semi-final date with League Cup winners Liverpool at Wembley. Sunderland have lost just four of the 19 games for which O’Neill has been in charge to date, and he knows things could hardly have gone much better.

Asked if he could have envisaged the current situation, he said: “No, I could not. I wouldn’t have envisaged us being even in the semi-final draw, for what it’s worth.

“We still obviously haven’t passed the quarter-final stage, but to be actually in a semi-final draw and at least to know who you might play if there was a possibility of getting through . . .

“But more importantly than that, the number of points we have been able to accumulate, I wouldn’t have envisaged that at all.”

O’Neill took over from Steve Bruce with Sunderland having collected just 11 points from their first 14 league games.

They will run out at Blackburn having added a further 26 from their subsequent 14 fixtures, and are a single win away from the 40-point mark generally accepted as the safety target.

O’Neill, who has spent much of his time at the Stadium of Light to date insisting his side was engaged in a relegation battle, concedes that victory in Lancashire would complete his first mission.

He said: “I think now that 40 points this season will definitely secure survival in the Premier League. With the sides now in the positions that they are in, I think it would take a lot now for those sides to achieve 40 points.

“The truth is this year, if you were to give any of the bottom five 40 points, obviously they would take that in a trice.”

Right-back Phil Bardsley has a fighting chance of playing despite suffering from bruised ribs, but left-back Kieran Richardson has been ruled out with a calf problem once again.

Blackburn manager Steve Kean has virtually a fully-fit side. Defender Bradley Orr missed the win at Wolves last time out with a hamstring problem but has returned to training and played in a practice match last week. Midfielder David Dunn has recovered from an Achilles injury so only Vince Grella is unavailable.