After the decisive and “important” home thrashing of Southampton, TONY Mowbray praised the professionalism of his players and acknowledged that it had been a “tough week” coping with transfer rumors and uncertainty.
Ross Stewart left Sunderland on the last day of the transfer market, but the club also had to cope with rumors surrounding a number of other important players. Pierre Ekwah, Patrick Roberts, Jack Clarke, and Dan Neil were all rumored to be leaving Wearside in the closing days of the year.
However, Sunderland put on a five-star performance against previously unbeaten Southampton after all of those players chose to remain in place and the Black Cats added four new players to their roster on deadline day.
The outcome is crucial for the group’s morale, according to Mowbray.
“It’s been a difficult week leading up to it in terms of the rumors surrounding many of our guys. Yesterday’s practice was disrupted by rumors that specific teams were interested in certain players.
They were really professional today, yet I can see them conversing to each other. We all showed there and performed the actions we had hoped to.
“I’m pleased with the day and pleased for the supporters. This game appears to be very challenging on paper. On the back of the program, I could only see name after name of highly experienced, top-notch footballers when I glanced at their lineup.
Through the quick work of Jack Clarke, Sunderland broke the scoreless tie after just 52 seconds. Six minutes later, the superb Ekwah doubled the advantage before scoring again just before halftime.
Just after the break, Bradley Dack scored the game’s fourth goal, and late-arriving substitute Chris Rigg sealed the victory.
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