Wear facing a really tough month - Neil
ALEX Neil admits August could be the toughest period for Sunderland as the Black Cats adapt to life in the Championship while working to bring their squad up to strength.
The Wearsiders kicked off their campaign with a creditable 1-1 draw against Coventry City at the Stadium of Light on Sunday, when they came within six minutes of making a winning start.
Their performance was all the more impressive given that ten of the 11 starters were part of the side which finished fifth in League One last term before winning promotion via the play-offs and four members of the side had never played at Championship level before.
Sunderland have brought in six players so far - defenders Daniel Ballard and Aji Alese, goalkeeper Alex Bass, onloan Everton striker Ellis Simms and wingers Jack Clarke and Leon Dajaku on a permanent basis after they were on loan with the the club last term.
However, Neil has said numerous times that Sunderland are still short on numbers after a raft of players departed over the summer - either when their loans finished or their contracts expired and need to strengthen in key areas before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.
In the meantime, the Wearsiders have six more league games to deal with before deadline day.
Neil said: “Potentially, this will be the toughest period.
“It is hard to say for sure because I don’t know what the season is going to look like but this is the period where we are not at full strength at the moment.
“We are going to go into these first few games quite light in some areas of the squad.
“It is not through a lack of effort behind the scenes, it is because the teams we are dealing with are reluctant to let their players out at the moment and we have to bide our time.
“We are still players light so the likelihood is by the end of the window the squad will look different to how it looks at the moment.
“You don’t get handed your squad and told that is your squad for the remainder of the season, because if that was the case you could get a lot of work in early doors.”
With more new signings still to arrive, it makes it difficult to assess Sunderland’s prospects this season until the transfer deadline passes.
However, Neil says August will still offer Sunderland a chance to get a handle on the step up in quality they will encounter in the Championship.
He added: “We will have a good idea of what the Championship looks like and where the levels are in comparison to what we faced last season.
“To that extent, we can use these next few games as a gauge.”
■ SUNDERLAND have responded to complaints about the behaviour of Coventry City fans in Sunday’s
Championship season-opener at the Stadium of Light.
Fans of both clubs reported a number of incidents, including the allleged throwing of pyrotechnics, bottles and coins from the area housing away supporters down towards Sunderland supporters seated in the North Stand.
A club statement said:: ‘Sunderland AFC is extremely disappointed by the conduct of a small minority of visiting supporters during the club’s fixture against Coventry City.
“Investigations by Northumbria Police and West Midlands Police are ongoing to identify the persons responsible.
“SAFC is also in dialogue with supporters’ groups to ensure appropriate preventative measures are put in place.”