Paolo Di Canio: Fascism row won't stop me from keeping Sunderland in the Premier League The people who are talking in this way, they don't understand Paolo Di Canio. Di Canio's appointment also led to the resignation of Sunderland vice-chairman David Miliband, the Labour MP for South Shields, prompting greater focus on the former West Ham forward's political leanings. But Di Canio insisted that the intense scrutiny he has faced since arriving on Wearside will not affect his ability to the job. He said: "No, because always there is an issue if people try to put you in difficulty for a ridiculous and pathetic situation which doesn't represent Paolo Di Canio. So I'm not worried. I don't have to answer any more this question (about fascism), there was a very good statement from the club, (with) very, very clear words that came out from me. I don't want to talk any more about politics for one reason because I'm not in the House of Parliament, I'm not a political person, I will talk about only football. Having spent just two years in charge at Swindon Town, Di Canio's relative inexperience has also been raised by Sunderland supporters fearful of the club's Premier League survival prospects. But as he prepared for the first game of his reign against Chelsea on Sunday, Di Canio claimed that he will win the fans over. "At Swindon, there were many people that couldn't believe Di Canio was the right man for the club," Di Canio said. After two months, at the end of the game 9,000 people were there, clapping the players and singing my name. I don't expect the Sunderland fans to sing my name because it's more important they sing the names of the players. But it is obvious that in the past, people have been sceptical because it was my first job as Swindon, League Two, League One, the mad Italian, he will fight his players, but at the end I won the league. I am young, people say the same, I have no experience in the Premier League but I am not worried. People are sceptical, it's not Paolo Di Canio who makes the statistics, I hear people talking about my statistics but it doesn't mean anything. I see managers with more experience than Paolo Di Canio, they are relegated. Why not change this habit one day? Sunderland owner Ellis Short approached the former West Ham striker after dispensing of the services of O'Neill on Saturday and Di Canio thought the American businessman was on a wind-up when he called him. "Late in the afternoon after the Manchester United game, I received a phone call and I was surprised because many times it has happened that a manager was sacked and my name, Di Canio, was 5-1 odds," he said. When I received the phone call from Mr Short, I thought it was a joke and I was ready to say a bad word - I thought it was a friend and I would have lost my job! But it was a big surprise and I had the fire in my stomach. I said yes after a second and I said I come by swim, no problem. Di Canio inherits a side dealing with relegation worries, but he is confident he has the tools to make sure any concerns are put to bed.