But then again ... he's also said this yesterday :
“I don’t think anyone at Manchester United would have expected City to be challenging them in the near future, but then the new owners came in at City and suddenly it’s all changed,” said the Sunderland boss.
“Having said that, I suppose you could say the same about Chelsea – they never looked likely to challenge Man U until Roman Abramovich put money into them.
“But Man City have always been a big club in their own right and a fantastically well-supported club.
“It can’t have been easy for them to live in the shadow of Manchester United for so long. Can you imagine, your neighbours across the city are winning everything in sight for 20 years?
“But now they have made huge strides in a short space of time because of their sheer wealth and they will have to be considered title contenders next season and beyond.”