Cats’ boss confident on signings

JACK Ross is confident he will be able to strengthen his squad in January to accelerate Sunderland’s promotion push – with Didier Ndong’s departure giving the club more room to manoeuvre.

The Black Cats boss believes owner Stewart Donald will support him when the transfer window reopens in the New Year, and says there are areas of the squad which may need reinforcing.

Ross brought in a dozen senior players in the summer but further arrivals were prevented because the club was unable to shift big earners Ndong and Papy Djilobodji before the window closed.

The club has since reached an agreement with Ndong to terminate his contract, and has also served notice on Djilobodji.

And that has reduced the club’s wage bill, making it easier to bring in new players in January.

“Stewart has always operated the same way with me,” said Ross. “As I said right from my first press conference, I never asked about the budget and that was for a good reason, because of the position the club found itself.

“But, certainly, it is very obvious that Didier leaving is beneficial to us, and to the overall business.

“Regardless of that, I think Stewart would have been supportive of anything I would have asked for in January – I think he knows I have always been very balanced about anything I have requested.

“I know that if we want to strengthen in January, we will be able to do so – within reason, obviously – and it is comforting to know that.”

Sunderland have had to cope with a lengthy injury list in the early months of the season, meaning Ross’s squad has been stretched at times.

And while Ross is wary of having too many players on his hands and finding it impossible to keep them all happy, he admits he could do with “one or two” more.

He said: “You have to make sure you don’t become heavy on numbers, and I think we’ve done OK. If you look at our squad we’re probably just about right in terms of numbers but one or two more might be helpful.

“You can’t predict what might happen between now and January but to counter that, Charlie Wyke will be back around then, Duncan will be available before then, so in forward areas we will be getting two back who aren’t available at the moment.”