Father Mark Lyden-Smith, who is the chaplain for Sunderland, must not think Gus Poyet is the answer as the team’s manager after Paolo Di Canio was sacked. The Father recently made a trip over to Vatican City or wherever it is that Pope Francis pope hangs out and asked him for some divine intervention to help get the club out of the basement of the Premier League.

With just one point in their first eight league outings, Sunderland could do with all the help they can get. This is why Lyden-Smith took a Sunderland shirt with him on a pilgrimage to visit the Pope at the Holy City. The Pope is a well-known football fan and has met several players and managers over the past year or so.

On the back of the Sunderland shirt was the name 'Papa Francesco' and the Father gave it to the Pope as a gift. He was quite happy with his new shirt and can now add it to his ever growing collection. After receiving it he said, "I pray for all football players, that they reach their full potential." 

We’ll see if the Pope has any magical powers over football results when Sunderland takes on Newcastle this weekend.