Sunderland man Luke O'Nien details 'incredible' Niall Quinn meeting and hopes for future collaboration
Sunderland player Luke O’Nien and Black Cats legend Niall Quinn enjoyed an hour together at the academy last week
Luke O’Nien has described Sunderland legend Niall Quinn as “incredible” after a recent meeting at the Academy of Light.
The former Black Cats striker, manager and chairman was in town ahead of the Norwich City game and visited the training ground before taking trips to the hospital and to the Stadium of Light on Saturday, where he spoke at half-time.
Sunderland team captain O’Nien and Quinn were pictured together at the Academy of Light in the week with the 30-year-old enjoying a good chat with the former Republic of Ireland international ahead of the Norwich City game in the Championship, which Régis Le Bris’ side won 2-1 after falling a goal behind in the first-half.
O’Nien was full of praise for the Sunderland legend - and revealed that he would like to work with Quinn in the future with both figures keen on mentoring people in the footballing world.
“He’s incredible, I know the history and what he’s done not just for this football club but the area and I spent a good hour with him, just speaking to him and we’re going to connect in the new year,” O’Nien said after the game against Norwich City. “He does a lot of work in America and in mentoring, and I’m strong on that side of it, so there may be an overlap in what we do to mentor and help develop players. I really enjoyed my time with him, he’s incredible.
“I’d never really spoken with him before, that was our longest conversation. He’s a very busy man and when he comes to the club everyone wants to talk to Quinny, so it’s the most amount of time I’ve been able to spend with him and it was really nice. He came and watched training and I tried my best to finish like him but he probably wasn’t impressed. He’s a great man who has done an incredible amount for the club and he’s having a huge impact now in mentoring.
“My dad always said that he doesn’t really care how I do at football as long as you’re a nice guy. And - I won’t use the word but ‘don’t be a…’ - be a nice person and it’s a bonus if you’re any good at footy. He always says, be a good person, try to help people and that’s how my mum and dad brought me and my brother and sister up and it’s how I try to be every single day. I don’t always get it right but I’m here to help and hopefully, if you ask a team-mate, I have helped them, added value and they’ve done the same for me and I’ll try to continue doing that.
“I’m always dead proud of my kids. Every day my little girl goes into school we tell her to smile, have a nice day, be nice and kind to people and work hard and if she does that whatever she does in life, I’ll be proud of her. My little man’s not so good at it at the minute, he loves chinning me, swinging an uppercut and throwing stuff at me but he’ll get there.”