Manager must play game of guesswork
for Sunderland, as well as in their opening two competitive games. He thinks to be thrown in there in this physical league is the best thing for his development at this stage of his career.
“Yeah definitely,” he said. “I’m at that age now where I need to be playing week in, week out and it’s nice to get the opportunity here. I’m enjoying it.” AUGUST is a month to be a manager.
Sunderland will play seven times in the opening month of the season, all the while knowing that players could be bought and sold during it.
Not until September will Simon Grayson be able to say what his squad for the first half of the campaign is, but that starts with a fortnight’s break for international football.
Only after that will he really be able to properly get down to the hard work of gelling his new group of players together. The uncertainty is not unique to the Black Cats.
Second-guessing how their opponents play will be tough in the coming weeks, particularly against today’s opponents Norwich City and next weekend’s visitors Leeds United.
It is a feature of Grayson’s first few weeks at the Stadium of Light that no matter what handicaps he has faced, he has just got on with it.
“It seems daft to have a (transfer) window open when the season has started,” said Grayson, who having managed his boyhood club Leeds in League One knows a thing or two about working in less than ideal circumstances.
“Hopefully that changes quickly but while it is here, we have to deal with it and deal with the number of games. As a manager or a coach, dealing with the number of games is incredible.
“You also have the window open, which is taking up a lot of your time.
“We did the work in preseason so all of them (the players he inherited and the seven signings he was able to make before the season started) know what they are supposed to be doing.”
After today’s game at Carrow Road, Sunderland are at Sheffield Wednesday on Wednesday.
The good news is that the League Cup secondround tie which follows the game against Leeds is only at Carlisle United, and the month concludes with a trip to Barnsley on 26 and the transfer window closing for the year at 11pm on the 31st. Sunderland’s next game after that is not until Sheffield United are in town on September 9. terrible football