Sunderland boss David Moyes has told fans to prepare for another relegation battle this season after Sunday’s 2-1 defeat by Middlesbrough.
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“It’s an exciting time, and we’re all looking forward to Sunday’s game at Sunderland and hopefully picking up our first Premier League win”. Without Victor, we had Brad Guzan in goal, and Dimi on the bench. This is the group we’ve got for now, but we will add to it’.
“I’m pleased for the players as once again, like last Saturday, we showed we’re ready to play in the Premier League”.
The former assistant to Jose Mourinho concluded: “This season, we could go to Spain to a training camp with nearly all the squad”, and Karanka believes “For that reason we are playing well, we are compact, we are playing with intensity and it is important to collect points as soon as possible”.
He said: “We were always confident behind closed doors that we had the squad”.
Stuani then netted a second just before the break after a clinical team move involving Adam Forshaw and Alvaro Negredo, before Patrick van Aanholt set up a dramatic finale with a second-half consolation.
It is premature comment to make in the extreme, and is hardly going to foster an atmosphere of positivity among Sunderland players after a couple of matches of a 38-game campaign in which Sunderland should be focused on finishing in the middle of the table at least.
“The key was the first half”.
The four points Sunderland took from neighbours Newcastle last season proved pivotal in their survival, but their haul from this season’s derbies will not be so prolific.
“In the second half we had problems but that’s normal. It’s a team effort and that’s what it was today”.
“It is difficult, but the young players fought so hard and did well for us”. When the game was still 0-0 he did alright, making a number of decent tackles in the period where there was very little pressure on us to dig in.
“We’ve lost a few players with injury but that’s part of it”.
“But no excuse because we go out and we try to win and I thought the boys did try to win and I thought they really went to try and score in the second half and we were a bit unlucky we didn’t get an equaliser”.
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It certainly devalues the merits of Sunderland’s academy somewhat when we are more prepared to give Donald Love a chance ahead of Josh Robson, a player that probably could have stepped in and done a better job at right back in the last two games than Love has done.
