Watmore’s comeback right on track – boss

Sunderland boss Simon Grayson is hoping that Duncan Watmore can continue his positive return from injury at Griffin Park today.

The 23-year-old returned to the starting XI against QPR last weekend and almost landed an early assist when Aiden McGeady sent his fine through ball wide.

He will likely keep his place in the side, though Grayson did admit he had been tempted to keep his firepower back for the later stages of the game.

He said: “He’s come through fine and his week has been as it would have been, bits of training and bits of recovery.

“It was great to have him back, psychologically and from a football perspective as well. He gives everybody a lift through his enthusiasm, but also the quality he’s got.

“We did contemplate keeping him on the bench to have for the last 20 minutes, like at Preston, but we wanted to start him.

“We wanted somebody like him to get us the first goal at home, so we could go on and win the game. He’s available for selection and hopefully keeps improving.” Grayson also said that he doesn’t believe Brentford’s struggles this season add any extra pressure to the game.

The Bees sit four points and five places above the Black Cats after a 1-0 win against Millwall last time out.

Grayson said: “It doesn’t matter who we are playing, we have to focus on getting the points that will help us get out of the position we are in, because it is not a comfortable place to be in at this stage of the season.

“We have to accumulate points to climb the division, whether that means catching Brentford or any of the other teams above us. We need to win matches.”