By Phil McNulty BBC Sport Online's chief football writer

Peter Reid's annual ban on booze ended in unlikely fashion - not amid scenes of celebration but in the low point of his career as Sunderland manager.

Reid was never slow to celebrate his successes, and rightly so as a man who also knew the depths of injury despair before tasting glory at Everton.

But August is a time for strict preparation at Sunderland, and for Reid it meant a spell on the wagon.

The wagon was publicly derailed in shameful and cowardly manner when Reid was soaked in lager hurled by angry fans after a pre-season defeat in Belgium.

Reid had long been a target for a large section of Sunderland's support, but had never come under such close range and personal attack.

But if the faceless attackers expected Reid to back down in the face of the flak, they had picked the wrong target.

And as Sunderland prepare to take on Middlesbrough at The Riverside, Reid is suddenly feeling the wave of criticism receding after good results against Leeds United and Manchester United.

He overcame career-threatening knee problems at Bolton to move to Everton and win two titles, the FA Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup.

He also forged an England career - emerging as a key figure when Bobby Robson's side reached the World Cup quarter-final in 1986.

In other words, it will take more than a few insults and alcohol hurled from a safe distance to pierce the armour of one of the game's toughest and most enduring figures.

Reid admits he was tempted to fight back in the manner of the Labour Party's John "Two Jabs" Prescott - who famously squared up to an assailant who pelted him with eggs.

But he responded in a more measured manner, finally silencing the critics who accused him of a fear of using his cheque-book and lacking the charisma to attract players to Sunderland.

Reid pulled off a real coup in landing Liverpool's England Under-21 defender Stephen Wright before luring Matthew Piper from Leicester City.

And he followed up an outstanding win at Leeds United by finally signing the strike partner Kevin Phillips had yearned for in the giant shape of Tore Andre Flo.

Sunderland captured Ipswich's Marcus Stewart for good measure - then Flo showed his value by scoring in a 1-1 draw against Manchester United.

'Just like Prescott'

It is too early to announce that Reid has cast off his critics. He knows they will lie in wait for the next bad run.

But no-one can doubt Reid's recent reaction demonstrated the fighting spirit that served him so well with Everton and England still sustains him at Sunderland.

He relived his nightmare moment in Belgium, but said: "I suppose the best comparison is John Prescott when the egg went in his face. It's a natural reaction to look after yourself.

"There was a cage around the tunnel, so it would have been very difficult to do anything like Prescott did but, to put it mildly, it was a very unpleasant incident.

"I can understand fans being frustrated, but a pre-season game in Belgium when we didn't play too bad?

"The real point is that I am a detemined character. The more I get, the more I give back. If I have got to have a fight, I will have a fight."

And there is no doubt Reid has had his fight on his hands at Sunderland in the last 12 months.

It is too soon to raise Reid's hand in victory, but he has landed defiant blows on his doubters.

Now he will want to go on and deliver the knock-out blow.