[3] He was raised in the Castlemilk housing scheme in Glasgow, and attended Grange Secondary School and played in youth teams with Jimmy Calderwood who also became a footballer and later a manager.
[4][5] He started his career with Birmingham City as an apprentice in June 1972 [3] (a year after Calderwood made the same move)[5] and signed as a professional at the club in May 1974, making his debut during the 1974–75 season.
[6] He was unable to establish himself in the first team at Birmingham and after making 15 appearances and scoring one goal, he joined Walsall in October 1978 for a fee of £15,000.
[3] He scored York's equaliser against Liverpool in the FA Cup fifth round on 20 February 1985,[8] which set up a lucrative replay at Anfield.
[12] Sbragia rejoined Sunderland's coaching staff in November 2007,[13] and was appointed as caretaker manager following the departure of Roy Keane on 4 December 2008.
[15] This was followed up with a 4–0 victory over West Bromwich Albion and a 4–1 win at Hull City, although Sbragia remained coy over the possibility of taking over permanently.
[17] On 24 May 2009, after guiding Sunderland to Premier League survival on the final day of the season, Sbragia resigned as manager of the club.