Martin O'Neill has hit out at his Sunderland successor Paolo Di Canio, branding him a "managerial charlatan".

O'Neill was sacked by the Black Cats in March and replaced by the controversial Italian.

Di Canio questioned the players' fitness as soon as he arrived, which was seen as an attack on O'Neill.

The former West Ham striker helped keep Sunderland up last season. But despite bringing 14 new players, the Black Cats suffered a disastrous start to this season, with Di Canio replaced in turn by Gus Poyet.

O'Neill has now responded to Di Canio's broadsides and he did not hold back on his assessment of the Italian.

"Paolo Di Canio? That managerial charlatan. Paolo stepped in there and basically, as the weeks ran on, he ran out of excuses. I had a wry smile to myself."

O'Neill also mocked Di Canio's decision to ban tomato ketchup from the Sunderland canteen.

"I'm hoping that, at some stage or other, John O'Shea asks me at the dinner table to pass him the tomato sauce. I will dispose of it immediately. If I feel you can't win games without tomato sauce I will empty it on his plate, with the chips."