Reading chief wary of buoyant Cats
Sunderland may be struggling at the wrong end of the Championship but Jaap Stam is well aware of the threat posed by Chris Coleman’s side.
Stam brings his Reading side, 16th in the table, to Wearside tomorrow (KO 3pm) for Coleman’s first game in charge at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland have been buoyed by the 2-0 win over Burton Albion, a win that lifted them off the foot of the table to third-bottom spot.
Stam has noticed a change of approach since Coleman replaced Simon Grayson. “I’ve seen them play already, they play a bit differently to how the previous manager did over there,” said Stam.
“Sunderland like to play out from the back now as well, play a bit more possession from what we’ve seen against Burton.
“We expect them to do that as well, and it’s still a good team. It’s not easy for them in the Championship but they still have a lot of quality in the squad. “Chris Coleman is a very experienced manager, he did very well with Wales and he’s trying to find his waywithSunderland as well now to go higher up the table. We’re aware of what the manager can do but we’re also aware of what their team and players can do.
“With some of their players, we know them very well so we need to be sharp and fresh, which is very important for us to get a good result.”
Reading, who will have exSunderland keeper Vito Mannone in goal, beat Barnsley 3-0 in midweek. Stam added: “I think we can show a lot more, and in the opinion of the team as well. We always want to create a lot of chances, we want to dominate more.”