Gus Poyet has revealed his masterplan for securing a managerial job in the Premier League.

The former Albion boss has revealed he planned to wait in England until the turn of the year in hope of a vacancy coming up.

Then he would look overseas.

Poyet is odd-on favourite to replace the season's first top-flight managerial casualty, Paolo Di Canio at Sunderland.

He told Uruguayan radio station Sport 890 last night he has “a chance” of the Stadium Of Light post but that he had been warned to wait a few days before knowing if he had been successful.

Poyet believes Sunderland have a squad capable of finishing comfortably in mid-table after studying them closely in the opening weeks of the season.

He is keen to bounce back after his acrimonious split from Albion this summer.

Poyet said: “When what happened in the summer happened, I thought I would be in England until at least January.

“I planned that over the first matches of the season I would pay a lot of attention to the teams I thought could be in trouble.

“Of course I watch Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester but there was a group of teams who, if they didn’t start well, I thought I could have a chance.

“I was watching Sunderland a lot.

“People were talking a lot about them in the summer because of Paolo and how many new players they had.

“So I’ve seen quite a lot of them.”

Poyet said he had expected managerial changes in the Autumn and believes events at Sunderland proves his strategy was correct.

He added: “I think England is where I have made my name so I planned to wait for a chance in the Premier League until for example January.

“In general managers start to lose their jobs in October and November.

“With Di Canio it has happened a bit quicker.

“I thought ‘If I’m going to get a chance it will be in October, November, December'.

“If December comes and nothing happens, if four or five teams have changed manager and I haven’t been close, I would open myself up to the world, let’s say, in general, possibly Europe, but to the world and an opportunity that could appear at an interesting team.

“What has happened with Sunderland is confirmation that I wasn’t too far wrong.”

Poyet revealed Roberto Di Matteo was not interested in the Sunderland post but that Watford boss Gianfranco Zola could be a candidate.

He revealed a phone call he had with Di Matteo.

“I called him and said “Really, are you interested?’ and he said ‘No.’ I said ‘Good, thank you. One less!’

“Another was Gianfranco Zola. It’s a team with lots of backroom staff and scouting staff from Italy.

“It was possible it would have been easier to go down that line, for the understanding between people from the same country.

“It’s a new team, very international, and it would be convenient for the new person to speak various languages.

“You wouldn’t need to have translators continually.

“That is something that helps me because I have that ability.

"But there are things that go against me, for example the fact that I’ve never managed in the Premier League.

“If one day you coach in the Premier League without having previously managed and it’s your first job and it doesn’t go well, generally they accuse you of not having worked at the lower level and taken the right steps required to reach the top.

“But it has to be one way or the other.

“It can’t be that when you have taken all the steps, been assistant to different managers, been manager yourself and improved year after year in the team you were with, that you can’t then have a chance at a higher level, That is illogical.”