Peter Reid's pick for his best Sunderland moment is a big surprise | OneFootball

During his time in charge of Sunderland, popular former manager Peter Reid enjoyed many memorable moments.

He achieved two promotions in the north east, signed ‘Super Kev’ Phillips, registered two seventh-place finishes in the Premier League and beat Newcastle twice at St James’ Park.

So it is a surprise when Reid, who took over when the club were struggling in the second tier, picked the most important moment of his seven-and-a-half years in charge.

“Martin Smith’s winning goal against Swindon not long after I joined,” was the highlight, as he told the Sunderland Echo.

“We had to win to stay up [in the old Football League, now the Championship] and they were down near the bottom as well.

“Steve McMahon, who I knew well from Liverpool, was their manager.

“The win that day allowed me to stay on and for us to do all the brilliant things that followed.

“After that we won promotion, moved to the Stadium of Light, got the new training facilities, had the 4-1 win over Chelsea and the wins against Newcastle.

“But all of that was possible thanks to Martin Smith’s winning goal. He knows much that goal means to me.”

The 63-year-old, who left Wearside in 2002, is currently in a technical director role at Wigan.