Winless run shows pressures of managing this big club – Ross
BLACK CATS FOCUS
For Jack Ross, a short winless run underlined the pressures of managing a club of Sunderland’s size.
In League One, where the club simply have to push for promotion, that pressure to win is magnified.
For the Black Cats boss, however, it simply serves as a reminder of how enjoyable it will be if he and his team can move the club back in the right direction.
“I said to the players after the Burton game, that I’d never really sensed a complacency from them,” he said.
“Physically it can look that way, but I think it just served as a bit of reminder.
“We are where we are, we’re in this league for a reason.
“It is that oil tanker thing, we’ve tried to drag it to a halt, then turn it around and then get it going in the right direction. It is tough, it is.
“It just proved that we’re going to have to be good this season, we’re going to have be resilient and united.
“It was interesting to see [the reaction], it didn’t phase me at all, but that little snapshot helps me to understand what the demands here are. You can understand why some clubs who’ve had real stability, that has been harder here.
“That’s not a criticism, that’s why it is such a great club, that interest and that passion.”
Sunderland will be backed by over 5,000 fans at the Ricoh Arena this lunchtime, a remarkable figure for a televised, lunchtime kickoff.
It follows statistics published this week that show Sunderland’s average home attendance this season, 30,255, exceeds the average gate for a number of the big European leagues.
Only the Premier League and the Bundesliga have higher average gates – though Ross isn’t too surprised.
“It’s remarkable, and that’s not meant in a patronizing way, I would say that even if I wasn’t manager of Sunderland,” he said.
“It’s an incredible show of loyalty, it’s enjoyable, any manager wants that responsibility.
“There’s a pressure and an expectation but I’d much rather have that.
“If I can get it right then it is going to mean an awful lot to an awful lot of people, for someone that loves football that is a great thing to involved in.” For Ross’ first game in charge against Charlton Athletic, 31,075 were there to witness the start of a new era for the club.
The visit of Scunthorpe United attracted 29,876, while the 1-1 draw with Oxford United recorded the Black Cats’ highest attendance so far this term with 32,193.
Fleetwood Town was watched by 29,376 and 28,764 were treated to a 4-1 win over Rochdale as Sunderland returned to winning ways to move up to third in the table.
Taking Sunderland out of the equation, the League One average gate is 8,521, with the Championship average 19,765.