"I CAN'T remember the last time I've felt as excited." So said former Leeds United manager Howard Wilkinson on being appointed as boss of Sunderland.

The fans seem less thrilled, however. Some booed the club's chairman, others called for sacked manager Peter Reid's reinstatement. It is not the most auspicious start to the job for Wilko.

But some in York were delighted by the news. They were the gamblers who had bet at 66-1 that Wilkinson would get the job. So while the Sunderland lot are sick as that parrot, these York football fans are over the moon.

Updated: 10:16 Friday, October 11, 2002