Tony Mowbray has been discussing what the future might hold for three of Sunderland’s more experienced players
Tony Mowbray says Sunderland need to retain some experience in their squad during a summer in which Danny Batth, Alex Pritchard and Lynden Gooch have been linked with a potential exit.
All three were key parts of last season’s side that finished sixth in the Championship but were named on the bench on opening day.
Batth and Pritchard completed the full game against Crewe Alexandra on Tuesday night, while Gooch was absent with a hamstring problem. Mowbray says he will be fine within a few days and could be fit for the trip to Deepdale on Saturday.
Speaking about their position more broadly, though, Mowbray said no definitive decisions had been made. Though Batth has had the strongest interest from fellow Championship side Blackburn Rovers, a deal has not moved close at any stage and the experienced defender wore the captain’s armband at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night.
Mowbray isn’t sure what will happen in the final three weeks of the transfer window but says his primary focus is to look after the players.
“I think my own view is about the individuals, the players,” he said.
‘If there’s an understanding that the players are maybe going to leave or either want to leave or feel as though they’re not required – then I think my first thought is always about the human being and their families, and what’s right for them. Particularly as you start to tiptoe into your 30s, you need to have contractual situations that are right for the human being.
“So I’m supportive of Danny and Alex, and Goochy, who picked up a knock so didn’t play [against Crewe] but who should be alright in a couple of days. I think what will be, will be. Let’s see what this next three weeks brings. I, personally, need to be supportive of those players. Obviously, I’m employed by this football club and we will do what we think is right for the football club at the time. That might be allowing players to leave, as long as we replace them.”
While Sunderland’s policy of mostly recruiting young players has yielded significant success, the games against Hartlepool United and Crewe Alexandra have suggested that the strength in depth for the rigours of a Championship campaign needs work.
The head coach does feel, though, that the introduction of Bradley Dack will help the team significantly in the weeks ahead as he builds his match fitness.
“I think there’s been some evidence in the last few games of the vulnerability of the squad depth,” Mowbray said.
“You’re talking about experienced players in amongst young players, and yes, I think that’s always important. Yet there’s probably examples out there that prove the opposite. I know I played in a very young [Middlesbrough] team in 1986. It was basically the youth team from the season before, but we managed to get promotion from what is now League One and then the following season got promotion out of what is now the Championship.
“There’s examples of young, exciting teams combining and getting the job done, and I think every time we put these young players on the pitch, they’re getting more experience. That’s pretty invaluable to them really. Our job is to get them to believe in running forward, looking forward, passing forward – playing how we want to play. If they can do it, then it doesn’t really matter whether they’re 15, 16 or 36.
“People do say to me, ‘It’s great here when it’s great, but when it’s not great, it can be pretty brutal’. I don’t know whether that’s right or wrong, but if it is tough and the results are not going our way then it might be tougher on young players. That will be an experience in their lives as footballers if that’s the case, and we have to face tough times. I’m hoping that won’t be the case and we’re going to win plenty of football games. The evidence of the first two games is that we can dominate matches, we just need to be able to put the ball in the back of the net.
“Somewhere down the line, potentially Ross Stewart with Dack, Clarke and Roberts looks pretty potent to me. But that might be six or seven weeks away yet. We do have strikers in the building, but unfortunately two of them are injured at the moment and we’re left with one. We need to add one or two more.”
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