Sam Allardyce became Sunderland manager in October 2015 when he took over from Dutchman Dick Advocaat.
Nineteenth in Premier League standings when appointment, the Dudley-born boss had it all to do if he was to preserve his formidable record of never suffering a top-flight relegation.
Having chalked up just three points from their first eight games of the season, the Allardyce button was pressed to save the Black Cats and what followed was one hell of a journey!
Allardyce's first game saw him return home to the Black Country, however, it wasn't to be a pleasant afternoon as Sunderland tasted defeat in controversial circumstances to West Bromwich Albion. Saido Berhanio's solitary goal proved to be the match-winner but in the build-up the forward appeared to have fouled stopper Costel Pantilimon. Nothing was doing, though, and the goal stood.
Make that three points after just nine games.
Fortunately, the second game of his stewardship was one of the standout moments of the season as Sunderland stretched their winning record against rivals Newcastle United to six games thanks to a 3-0 victory at the Stadium of Light.
Two wins in November against Crystal Palace and Stoke City helped the club climb out of the relegation places, but a five-game losing streak in December saw the team sink down to 19th once again.
The Lads started 2016 in inspired fashion, collecting successive wins against Aston Villa and Swansea City.
Allardyce later bolstered his ranks in the January window, recruiting five players in the shape of Lamine Kone, Jan Kirchoff, Wahbi Khazri, Dame N'Doye and Steve Harper.
Those players immediately gave the team a spark as performances improved dramatically.
A 2-2 draw against Liverpool in February was followed up with a 2-1 home victory against Manchester United.
Four draws from the next six helped to keep the club in touch with those around them, but a defeat to Leicester City left the club perilously placed in the bottom three.
Carrow Road was the destination for arguably the biggest game of the season as Sunderland chased a win against a key relegation rival.
Norwich City sat four clear of the Black Cats before kick-off, and knew victory would all but down Allardyce's side as it would put them seven ahead with 12 points to play for.
However, the Black Cats sunk their teeth into the Canaries and won 3-0 to move within a point of Alex Neil's outfit.
Two draws followed against Arsenal at home and Stoke City away which again left the team in the bottom three.
With Newcastle United facing already relegated Aston Villa, Sunderland knew that a defeat against Chelsea at the Stadium of Light would all but condemn them to relegation.
But Allardyce was adamant his team had what it took to stay up, and a stunning comeback against Chelsea clinched a 3-2 victory. The result was celebrated even more when the news filtered through that the Magpies had been held at Villa Park, leaving Sunderland's destiny in their hands with two games to go.
A wave of optimism swept around the Stadium of Light in the Black Cats' penultimate game of the season at home to Everton.
It seemed inevitable the Lads wouldn't stick against the Toffees, and they truly delivered one of the most memorable evening's in the stadium's history as they brushed aside Roberto Martinez's team with a comfortable 3-0 win, thanks to two Kone goals and a Patrick van Aanholt strike.
That meant that Sunderland had retained their top-flight status, and the club seemed to have found a recipe for success with Allardyce.
Unfortunately though, Allardyce's tenure ended that summer as England appointed him as their new manager.
