Julio Arca has called for patience after his former Sunderland team-mate Kevin Phillips was appointed as new manager at Northern Premier League club South Shields.
The Argentinean midfielder became a cult figure during a six-year stay at the Stadium of Light and remained in the North East after joining Middlesbrough in the summer of 2006.
Arca retired from the game at the end of the 2012/13 season - but was tempted back into football when he made the surprise move to join South Shields two years later.
