Djibril Cisse has urged the Sunderland board to give Ricky Sbragia the manager's job on a permanent basis.

Sbragia is currently in caretaker charge at the Stadium of Light following Roy Keane's resignation at the start of this month.

He has put himself in contention for the job on a full-time basis after back-to-back wins lifted Sunderland out of the relegation zone.

Though Sbragia is uncertain if he wants to continue in the job, the former Manchester United coach has the support of the players.

Cisse has been impressed by Sbragia's impact and the on-loan striker believes it is worth giving him a chance for the long term.

"Ricky is a really good guy," said Cisse in The Sun."He doesn't like to be overly expressive, but he is really good and, for the moment, it is working, so we should give him a go.

"When I was at Marseille, the same thing happened. When we changed manager, we were in the bottom three.

"But, by the end of the season, we came second. That shows how things can turn around. The way you cope is to stay together."