Hello and welcome to the Sunderland AFC live blog on Friday, August 9.
It may be transfer deadline day for Premier League and Championship clubs, but Jack Ross still has plenty of time to fine tune his squad ahead of the League One window closing on September 2.
The Scot has his eye on another left-back and now the Premier League and Championship windows are closed, targets' futures should look a little clearer.
“We would like someone in in that area,” he said. "You can see we have good depth in other areas but it is important for us to have another option and competition for Denver so we will continue to work on that over the coming days.
"We have already worked hard on that regard on the possibility Bryan would leave so it was a case of knowing exactly who would work for us within the parameters of the club as well.”
Ipswich 1-1 Sunderland - big match reaction
Sunderland drew 1-1 at Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Saturday - here is our reaction from the game.
Signing off
That will be all for today folks. Thanks for joining us as always. To close, here’s our build-up content for tomorrow’s game.
Grant Leadbitter on his return to Ipswich
The SAFC captain told the club website that he’s expecting a tough game against his former club:
It will be a tough game. Ipswich had a good start to the season and I expect them to be up there as well as ourselves challenging.
”I’ve spoke to Paul Lambert a few times. I know he’s an intense manager and his record in this league is incredible.
”Portman Road is a tough place to go and play football.
”But for us it’s about Sunderland and we have to play our way into the season. The first games are always hard. It doesn’t matter how hard you work in pre-season, the first four or five games of the season you’re feeling your way in.
”But ultimately you must get points on the board and that’s what we’ll be looking to do at the weekend.”
Martyn Waghorn bravely opens up on battle with depression
The ex-Sunderland told the Telegraph how he struggled to cope with the demands of playing for Rangers. He said:
“Having my family around in the city, I found what was most difficult was how intense playing for a club like that was. Everywhere you go you get questioned, followed, photographed. In the press or on social media. That’s the side I struggled with. I am quite quiet and family-orientated. Not performing to the level I wanted in the second season was when I started to struggle.
“I got injured at the start of the new season. I think that is where it escalated. I started to struggle off the field and with the demands of playing for the club. Not being fit. Not doing as well as I could have done. The team were struggling and that was when I struggled to cope with it all. This is when I kind of got diagnosed with depression.
“For me [being diagnosed] was a big shock. I have always thought of myself as an open, happy person. To hear that was a big struggle. It all made sense. How I was as a person was translating onto the pitch. I remember away at Dundee [Feb 21, 2017], just after I spoke to the doctor, I could not think about the game. My mind was completely away with it. I was receiving passes and my mind was going blank. And that was when I knew this was a genuine issue.
“I went and got some help and saw a few people, independent counsellors, and the Scottish FA were really helpful. It was a difficult period in my career coping with the demands of playing for Rangers. It is not something I have spoken about publicly. From where I am at now I am delighted I can say I have got through that difficult period with help from my wife, and my family.”
The full interview, including an interesting story on his Sunderland debut and meeting childhood hero Wayne Rooney, can be found here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/08/09/martyn-waghorn-hopes-inspire-depression-sufferers-mind-completely/
Jack Ross' verdict on Will Grigg's struggles
“I speak to Will a lot because it’s my job as a manager to get the best from players.
“it’s been a tough period for him and I’ve been trying to help him through that, both with what we do in training and in games.
“He also has to play his way out of it as well.
“He gets a lot of support from us and he knows that and he cares what about his football.
“People judge from afar but they don’t really get to know a player.
“It’s bothering him because he wants to be a success here and at the moment it’s not really happening for him.
“He will back himself because of his record but I think, like any player who is going through a period like this, he just wants to get back on the scoresheet again, get a couple of goals and he’ll be up and running.”
Paul Lambert offers an Ipswich injury update
There’s a couple of absentees tomorrow.
“Gwion Edwards and Jon Nolan are close but they’re not quite ready for Saturday. We have a lot of games this month so I will change certain things. We need everybody at match speed.”
Lambert expecting a big crowd at Portman Road
“If we get a near full stadium it’s going to be great. The fans are the most important people at the Club & if we can give them something back then that’ll be great.”
Paul Lambert is speaking to the media ahead of Sunderland clash
The Ipswich boss is speaking to the media ahead of tomorrow’s League One clash.
Good news for Sunderland on the injury front
Charlie Wyke and Max Power are set to return in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup clash with Accrington.
“Charlie is not far away and I’m hoping he will be available for Accrington on Tuesday.
“Max missed a big chunk of pre-season and we had always pencilled in Accrington as his first game back.”
Jack Ross: There has to be a continuity of selection
The manager wants to end Sunderland’s cycle of change.
“I think there is an expectancy upon us so the frustration when we don’t win any game will always be there because we are expected to gain promotion this season, and that is certainly the ambition,” he said.
“There are 45 games left in the season so there has to be a degree of proportion about it. As I said after the game at the weekend, I thought we did okay but we could’ve done better in the final third - and, of course, that’s always the part of the pitch which colours the mood after the game.
“But we have to stop the cycle whereby whenever a player does not start a game he suddenly the best player in the team, and when he does start he is the worst player in the team.
“We’ve been in that cycle for a while.
“There will always be tweaks here and there and games but we have to be careful that there is not a hysterical reaction to every single game because making eight or nine changes every match - which no team does - will never bring success.
“The truth is that a team might be picked for a certain game, it might be because of how fit players are, or even whether players played a full part in pre-season.
“You can get tired of offering explanations all the time, but there’s always a reason.
“There has to be continuity of selection.”
Jack Ross' praise for Boro boss
Talking about Jonathan Woodgate’s rise to Boro boss, Ross said:
“Jonathan has probably done it in a way slightly different to some ex-players because he’s been coaching within the club and gaining that experience,” he said. “I always think that helps.
“If you’ve got a desire to manage and I think he’s always had that, if you’ve coached first it always benefits you as well because there is a greater onus on managers to coach now as well.”
SAFC operate in a different transfer market now
Ross said of the type of deals they have to do:
“The club has been in a huge transitional phase and we recruit in very different circumstances and a very different market now.
“Apart from George (Dobson), which was a very small fee, we recruited players who are out of contract – that market may be large in numbers, but not perhaps quality. We have to seek the quality to get us promoted.
“We still feel we need another player on the left side of the pitch. Denver, we feel, has a big future and we need competition there and depth too – we have players who can cover there, but not play there.
“We have been working on things and when the Championship and Premier League window closes today it will have an impact on the players coming in and out. The window closing for them closes the opportunity for them to get players out.
“I don’t work with a budget here, never have done, so it’s hard to say what I can and can’t do.”
Priority remains a left-back
Ross said yesterday:
“We said on Saturday that we still feel we need more cover on the left hand side of the pitch.
“We have Denver there who is a young man and we feel has a big future, but we need competition in that area of the pitch and also depth. He’s the only real natural we have in that area. We have players that can cover there, but ideally you want players who are natural there.
“We have been working on stuff, but when the Championship and Premier League window closes today [yesterday at 5pm], that will impact on the availability of some players, and also the ability for us to bring them to the club with the parameters we work under. The window closing for them today shuts down the number of possibilities these clubs have to get certain players out.”
Welcome
Hello and welcome to today’s live blog where we’ll bring all the latest safc news, views and gossip. Here’s the top stories to close with:
