 On 24 August 2012, Sunderland announced the signing of Steven Fletcher from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a fee of £ 14 million and England international winger Adam Johnson from Manchester City. Despite this, Sunderland endured a difficult start to the season, with their first victory not coming until late September against Wigan. Despite the £ 5 million signing of Danny Graham in January, Sunderland suffered a further slump, taking just 3 points from eight games, and with the threat of relegation looming, O 'Neill was sacked on March 30, following a 1-0 home defeat by Manchester United. Paolo Di Canio was announced has his replacement the following day, bringing his own backroom staff. The appointment prompted the immediate resignation of club Vice Chairman David Miliband due to Di Canio's "past political statements". The appointment of Di Canio also sparked opposition from the Durham Miners'Association, which threatened to remove one of its mining banners from Sunderland's Stadium of Light, which is built on the former site of the Wearmouth Colliery, as a symbol of its anger over the appointment. The background to the opposition was past statements made by Di Canio supporting Fascism.
