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O'Neill warns McClean: Hard work starts now Sunderland boss Martin O'Neill has warned rising star James McClean life in the Barclays Premier League is only going to get more difficult after handing him a new improved contract. The 22-year-old, who joined the Black Cats from Derry City in a #350,000 summer move, has seen his initial three-year deal replaced by another which will keep him on Wearside until the summer of 2015. McClean has never looked back since bursting on to the scene as a substitute in O'Neill's first game at the helm at the start of December, and his growing prominence was last month rewarded with a first senior Republic of Ireland cap. However, his emergence has alerted opposing teams to the threat he poses, and O'Neill has warned him he faces fresh challenges ahead. He said: "It's not going to be all plain-sailing for him now, not just because he has been given a new contract. "So far, it has been plain-sailing. Now he will come up against top-quality full-backs, he will come up against people who are doubling up on him, and he has to find ways and means to be able to cope with those things and to be able to overcome them. "That's something he will have to learn." McClean will get his latest chance to impress as struggling QPR head for the north-east looking to build upon their morale-boosting 3-2 victory over Liverpool. Sunderland, of course, have the little matter of an FA Cup quarter-final replay against Everton to come three days later, but their manager is determined not to allow a promising fightback in the league to slip away as thoughts turn to the possibility of cup glory. He said: "I am obviously relieved to have the number of points we have at the moment. "You wouldn't want it to slip away, but by the same token, the FA Cup quarter-final game on Tuesday is very important. "At some stage or another, there are one or two players who haven't played that many minutes since December and maybe before that, and I would like to know the capabilities of the young players before the summer." O'Neill will once again be without left-back Kieran Richardson, while John O'Shea will undergo a late fitness test on his hamstring, but Stephane Sessegnon returns to contention after serving his three-match ban. Armand Traore will miss out for QPR. The Senegal international was brought off at half-time of Wednesday's 3-2 victory against Liverpool and is out for the next couple of weeks with a grade one hamstring injury. Clint Hill will travel with the squad but will have a back injury assessed, while long-term absentees DJ Campbell and Heidar Helguson are making good progress. Manager Mark Hughes believes the morale-boosting defeat of Liverpool will count for nothing if they do not perform at Sunderland. The relegation-threatened west Londoners ended a miserable run of just one victory in 16 matches on Wednesday by beating Kenny Dalglish's side in astonishing fashion at Loftus Road. QPR trailed by two goals with just 13 minutes remaining yet somehow turned things around, earning three points thanks to Jamie Mackie's last-gasp winner. Hughes believes the 3-2 victory has given his side a new lease of life and now expects an equally-impressive display at the Stadium of Light. "It is a huge lift for everybody given the circumstances and the events of the evening," he said. "We were in a position where we were two goals behind against one of the top teams in the Premier League and we needed to do something about it. Thankfully we did. "It was a remarkable turnaround but it just showed the desire and commitment of the players and their desire to stay in the Premier League. "It has was a huge result for us and it has given everybody a lift. The important thing now is that we don't allow that momentum and uplifting feeling to dissipate. "We have got to make sure we can hopefully get another positive result and if we can build on what we achieved the other night then it will have been worthwhile. "There is no point having an outstanding performance and great result if we slip back into losing games when maybe we should be taking points. "The challenge for us is to make sure we go and hopefully get something from Sunderland."