Sunderland AFC news: Celtic boss linked with Cats role, M'Vila on must-win Norwich clash, Souness criticises Kaboul

M'Vila has been speaking about the must-win scenario facing Sunderland away at Norwich City on Saturday in the wake of the 2-0 defeat to Leicester City.

M'Vila told the Echo: "We have to win against Norwich, there’s no question of a draw.

"We have to take the points and absolutely have to win at any cost.

"It’s like a derby, a cup final and we have to approach it like that.

"There will be pressure on both teams, but more on us because there’s four points between us."

Click here for the full story:Meanwhile, Sunderland's search for a new chief executive remains ongoing and there is a new name in the frame today.

Celtic's Peter Lawwell has been linked with a move south of the border.

The Black Cats remain on the look-out for a successor to Margaret Byrne, who resigned a month ago in the wake of Adam Johnson's conviction for sex offences.

Reports in Scotland today have indicated that Lawwell is among the names in the frame to succeed Byrne in handling the day-to-day running of the Black Cats.

Lawwell has been chief executive at Celtic for 12-and-a-half years, during which time he has reduced the debt and vastly improved the finances of the SPL champions.

Click here for the full story and we take an in-depth look at who Peter Lawwell is.

Former Hartlepool United manager and current Chesterfield chief executive Chris Turner has also been linked with the role.

Meanwhile, Norwich City boss Alex Neil believes the Sunderland game is "ideal" for his Canaries side.

Both sides are scrapping for their lives at the bottom of the Premier League - and they face each other at Carrow Road on Saturday lunchtime.

"Sunderland is the ideal match for us because we have a chance to get ourselves further away from the relegation zone," he said.

"If you already have the points on the board that is the important thing but of course after our defeat Sunderland carries a bit of extra weight now.

"We could have put a bit of distance between us. What happened on Sunday dictates a lot. We know it is still four and we can extend it to seven.

"Sunderland was always going to be big, regardless of whether we won or lost (at Palace).

"If we had won it was going to be massive for them. If we had drawn then the situation doesn’t really change, and if we had lost, like we have, then it was always going to be built up even bigger."

And finally, Graeme Souness criticised Sunderland defender Younes Kaboul in the wake of the defeat to Leicester City.

Speaking on Sky Sports Super Sunday, Souness said: "The thing that separates teams which are competing for trophies and are at the bottom is that their players learn.

"They make a mistake once and learn from it.

"Kaboul, you look at him and think he’s got decent technique, powerful, he can run but he makes mistakes like that and that’s cost them the game."