Boss Ross: We have the character to succeed
ous and adaptable Honeyman, just the fact Sunderland do not need to be asking players to play out of position at the moment.
Morgan stated his case when he came on for the final 23 minutes and it was not his fault he did not have an assist to his name.
Tough learning curve for Kazaiah Sterling
Tottenham Hotspur loaned Kazaiah Sterling to Sunderland on deadline day for the England youth international short of confidence after spurning three opportunities laid on by O’nien and most tellingly substitute Lewis Morgan.
There is work still to be done but Reece James and O’nien look set in at full-back and the old stagers in central midfield, finally starting the partnership which never got chance to get going when Leadbitter moved to Ipswich Town weeks after Cattermole arrived from Wigan Athletic, are providing much-needed reassurance to the centre-backs they bodyguard.
It is bad news for good players like Adam Matthews, Bryan Oviedo, Dylan Mcgeouch and Max Power but building a to gain some experience of playing senior football, not watching it but, as at Oxford United, the 20-year-old was in the travelling party but not the 18-man squad.
The centre-forward has not featured since making his debut as a substitute at home to Wimbledon and Watmore and Grigg were prepared up front with Wyke on the bench.
It says a lot about the depth Sunderland have that, with Lynden Gooch and Chris Maguire injured, Sterling could still not get a look-in.
That Sterling is cup-tied in the Football team is not just about chucking in the 11 best players and for now at least they might have to be sacrificed because other combinations are starting to click.
Those on the fringes will have to push their cases when they get the chance as Morgan did when he came off the bench, and Wyke conspicuously did not.
Kazaiah Sterling might be about to leapfrog the latter in the pecking order, having come all the way to the West Country as a glorified spectator.
If any of them can push their cases, Sunderland might get better still but for now it feels like the job is more about building on what Ross has hit upon. League Trophy will not help his chances either. It is early days but his Sunderland career is a slow burner.
No goal for Grigg but he does make one
If Sunderland fans were hoping Grigg’s first goal for the
It feels like a corner was turned when Chris Maguire came off the bench at Accrington Stanley last week.
The only pity is the Scot is not around to reap the rewards of the shot of self-belief he has injected into his team.
Rovers have improved greatly since Graham Coughlan took over as manager in mid-december, albeit less so at home where they are still looking for their first league win of the calendar year.
Physical, direct and, as usual for a team hosting Sunderland boosted by one of their biggest crowds of the season, they were certainly no soft touch.
However, Sunderland are starting to
Sunderland have only turned a corner at one end
The Black Cats might be much more potent at corners after the January signing of Leadbitter but they still have work to do on defending them. Jonson Clarkeharris ought to have scored in either half but put his header wide at 0-0 and on to the roof of the net at 2-0. Still, it is much more enjoyable to pick holes in your play when you can look back from the comfort of a clean sheet and a 2-0 win. look more like the team which went on an eight-match winning run in October/ November – solid, if not always spectacular.
Luton Town and Barnsley, one and two in League One, have suggested the Black Cats will need to put together another run like that if they are to go down the safe route of automatic promotion rather than take their chances on the road to Wembley in the play-offs.
Not only does it feel as though Sunderland could be capable of that again, it seems as if the players believe that too. It just feels like a week where the promotion push took a decisive turn. SUBSTIUTE Charlie Wyke had two excellent chances to further extend Sunderland’s lead late in the game but he was unable to hit the target.
Ross, though, did not dwell on those misses, instead concentrating on the positive of another important victory over a side which may be in the relegation zone but which had not lost in the league since Sunderland beat them at the Stadium of Light before Christmas.
He said: “We don’t always give the opposition enough credit because of the nature of the expectancy on us but we came to a team who had not lost since we played them in December.
“They were in good form, at their stadium, and there was a lot to play for as well.
“That is a challenge and we had to be robust and resilient and I thought we did that really well and we saw the benefits of that.
“We know we are always going to pose an attacking threat. We went through a stage recently where we were not quite as fluid in that area and then you have to address the other side of it as well – and that is not just the defensive side it is the whole group.
“I thought we looked solid, which is pleasing, because when you come away from home in this league you have to be solid because you are going to be tested right the way through the game.”
Sunderland also took advantage on a day when promotion rivals Barnsley and Portsmouth went head to head and both dropped points in a goalless draw.
However, Ross believes his side has proved many times this season it has the character required for a successful promotion campaign.
He added: “In any league as you start to come towards the end you have to have that character.
“It is very much a case of remaining focused on what you are doing, controlling the controllables.
“All we can ever affect is our own result and our own performance.
“To play for this club, you have to be resilient and have mental strength and I do not have any worries about that – the players have shown it time after time.”