Ross’ delight with Dunne and Morgan contribution

Jack Ross praised his two January loan signings after their eye-catching contributions in Sunderland’s 2-0 win over Bristol Rovers.

Irish defender Jimmy Dunne had a tricky week on home turf but against one of the most direct teams in the league, stood firm and made a significant contribution to a welcome clean sheet.

Jon McLaughlin did not have a save to make as the Black Cats dealt well with the long balls and crosses from Rovers.

“It’s like everything, the team has been criticised at times, individuals have been criticised at times,” Ross said.

“We’ve got quite a few young players and this is a whole new learning experience for them at times, and they’ve experienced different types of games on a weekly basis.

“There were a lot of balls forward, a lot of balls into the box. We knew that [would happen].

“If you’re stripping it right back, we wanted a more physical presence in the box and I would guess he’s [Dunne] into double figures in terms of the headed clearances or clearances from his own box.”

The 2-0 win at the Memorial Stadium also saw Sunderland’s other loanee make a notable contribution.

Celtic’s Lewis Morgan came off the bench in the second half and set up three chances for Charlie Wyke, on each occasion carrying the ball from his own half to the byline, beating a number of opposition defenders in the process.

“Lewis is a good player,” Ross said.

“He wants to play all the time, that’s how he is and why he’s come out on loan. It’s that demand on him to show that level all the time.

“That [performance] is him, I’ve seen him do it time after time.”