The Black Cats face the Royals tomorrow with both sides featuring a heavy contingent of Irishman.

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Reading feature the likes of midfielder Stephen Hunt and strikers Kevin Doyle and Shane Long.

While Sunderland's Irish connections are well-documented with club owners, chairman and manager all Irish and with a dozen Irish players in the first team squad.

McShane said: "There's plenty of Irish lads at our club but Reading have their fair share and I know them well from playing alongside them with the Republic.

"They are a great bunch of lads, Kevin Doyle, Steve Hunt and Shane Long. They are good, honest and hardworking lads and that kind of sums up Reading as a whole.

"One thing is for certain and that is that it won't be easy against them tomorrow but I'm hoping that we're going to be the ones coming away from the ground happiest with the result."

The centre-half knows that this match could be one of the most crucial in Sunderland's campaign.

And for the Black Cats there's the tantalising prospect of the match offering the Wearsiders a triple boost – their first away win of the season, first 'double' over a Premier League side and a chance to climb the table at the expense of their rivals.

He said: "The match is so important. It takes us into the Christmas period, it will be a test of how we react to the disappointment of drawing against Villa and it is also a chance for us to get that first away win of the season.

"A win would be a great result for us down there and it would give everyone a huge lift. We've already beaten Reading at the Stadium of Light and there's no reason to doubt that we can beat them at their place."

"They say that to survive in the Premiership you have to concentrate on winning as many of your home games as you can but you do need to win games on the road, too.

"We haven't won away from home yet this season and that's something we need to put right this weekend."