Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Poaching ban for Grayson
SUNDERLAND have been told to forget any ideas of raiding Preston for players. The Black Cats appointed ex-deepdale boss Simon Grayson and he has taken with him assistant manager Glynn Snodin and chief scout Ian Miller. Striker Jordan Hugill is likely to top Grayson’s wanted list – but Preston have officially told Black Cats chief executive Martin Bain “enough is enough”, and they are not prepared to trade players in any Grayson recruitment drive. Grayson revealed yesterday how he wants to put a smile back on Sunderland faces. After signing a threeyear deal to become the Black Cats’ sixth permanent boss in four years, the straight-talking Yorkshireman insisted Wearside has been engulfed in negativity for too long. He said: “I’ve told everyone they have a clean slate – whether they’ve made 500 appearances or just played a handful of games for the Under-23s. “I’ve had a meeting with the staff and it’s all about trying to create a happy working environment. “If you manage to do that, players come into work with a smile on their faces and hopefully then you’re getting a better performance on the pitch. “There’s been a lot of negativity about the place this last year, but that’s all in the past – it’s about what we do in the future.” Grayson has received assurances that money is available for new players after Bain confirmed the club is no longer up for sale after the breakdown of £90million takeover talks with a German consortium. Grayson is confident he can add a fifth promotion to his CV. He added: “That has to be the ambition because this club needs to be in the division above.” Veteran Sunderland defender John O’shea has signed on for another year at the club. The Ireland centre-back, 36, has played nearly 200 league games for the Black Cats.