Hello and welcome to the Sunderland AFC live blog for Thursday, February 7.
The Black Cats are busy preparing for Saturday's huge game against Oxford United - when they will hope to close the gap on those automatic promotion places.
Jack Ross' side have been given a boost after a productive transfer window which saw Will Grigg, Lewis Morgan, Kazaiah Sterling, Grant Leadbitter and Jimmy Dunne all come though the door.
With five games in just two weeks in February, Sunderland's squad will be pushed to the limit and it will be interesting to see which of Ross' new arrivals go straight into the starting line-up on Saturday.
Sunderland, after all, got back to winning ways last weekend with a 1-0 win against AFC Wimbledon to move up to fourth place in the League One table.
Join us for all the very latest throughout the day.
Oxford United 1-1 Sunderland
Will a lot of promotion experience in the squad (players and staff) help?
It’s certainly not a hindrance. It’s certainly not easy, no matter what league you’re playing in, to win promotion.
It’s a slog, it’s a grind, it’s a really tough thing to do.
There is an understanding right through the squad of what it takes to achieve that and also being able to carry that expectation on your shoulders.
We certainly feel we’re well-equipped with what we have in the dressing room.
Will no midweek game be a boost for you?
Yes, just like the break before the last game.
What it does is allow you to train a lot more and at a higher intensity.
But we do know we’re approaching a period where that is going to dip again so we won’t be able have as much time.
Having said that, with where the squad is at right now numbers-wise and fitness-wise we’re in a very good position at this moment. But that can change at any moment that’s just the unfortunate thing.
But it should allow us to keep the players fresh ahead of the busy run in that we have until the end of the season.
How are you finding teams approach Sunderland tactically at home this season?
I think away games have felt like cup finals this season and in terms of tactics there is always going to be a different approach depending on which team we’re playing, but it’s been more that every away game has had that feel of a one-off cup final game.
We mentioned the size of the crowds and, of course, our travelling fans that we always take with us and then the game itself is played in that kind of cup final pace and tempo and that’s why games have been a real challenge for us.
We’ve came through a lot of them very well.
I think every away game we play will be exactly the same.
Thoughts on Oxford
If you look at a couple of their recent home games, they’ve had decent results against Portsmouth and Barnsley, as well (as the game at Sunderland earlier in the season) you can see they’re a good side.
It’s up to us to perform on the day and be consistent each and every game.
We speak all the time about away games and how us going results in the home teams biggest crowd of the season and I gather that will be the case again on Saturday. That all adds to the occasion and the challenge for us.
They were impressive when we played them earlier in the season. It made it difficult that we were a man short for large parts of it, but we know we have to be good to get anything on Saturday.
Looking forward to now putting the jigsaw together?
Just by coincidence, it’s also the healthiest we’ve been as a squad really as well as bringing the new players in.
There’s not been that many occasions t his season, with one or two exceptions, where we’ve had no injuries.
What this does is add competition for places and ideally you would have had that in recent months too. As a result, players understand they have to perform to a high level which is good enough to keep them in the team.
It will also allow us to be a bit more flexible in our approach as well.
All in all, we’re in a good place on paper but we have to put that in place on the pitch as well.
Is Will Grigg fit to play?
Yeah he’s fine. He should be fine to travel.
He’s trained and took part in just about every session Tuesday and yesterday, he trained all of the session today, so unless there is any adverse reaction then general fitness-wise he’s fine.
He didn’t miss a great deal but you temper that with, like Grant (Leadbitter) and like Lewis (Morgan) he’s not played a lot this season. Now there’s two sides to that.
One is trying to get the legs up to speed for the challenges you face in a game two or three times a week sometimes.
But also, there’s a bit of a freshness about him.
In term of the injury, he’s all good to go at the moment.
On Will Grigg
We identified early on and he was our priority to replace Josh (Maja) and strengthen our attacking options. He was the number one we wanted to bring to the club. As the weeks unfolded, it looked less and less likely. But I suppose the best way to describe it would be all’s well that ends well.
There was some difficulties and it was challenging but the fact is we managed to bring a player to the club who is very much proven in this league and will be an asset to us in these two or three months that remain in the season.
You look at goals to games ratio and Will’s track record in this league is as good as anybodies. He’s also achieved not just as an individual but also collectively as part of a team with promotions from this division so he ticks just about all the boxes for us.
He’s got a natural pedigree and character-wise he fits in very well with current bunch, so just overall he’s a good signing for us and one I’m sure will help us in the remaining league and cup fixtures that we have.
Full transcript to follow
That’s all from the TV section of Ross’ press conference then. Full transcript to follow...
Will Grigg is good to go
A full transcript will follow but Jack Ross has confirmed that Will Grigg will be fit to travel with the squad and should be involved on Saturday!
Jack Ross press conference video
Here is the video for Jack Ross press conference. It will also appear above the live blog if you refresh your page which will save the annoying scrolling every time we post an update that pushes this one further down the blog.
Once the press conference is finished we’ll provide a full transcript too.
Jack Ross press conference updates to come
Jack Ross will hold his pre-Oxford press conference at 1.30pm this afternoon. We’ll have live updates right here.
Congratulations to the Gooch family
One new member was added to the family on Saturday, which is why he was forced to withdraw from the squad late.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtjlPAnH5ev/
He’s straight back in training though
Grigg hopes to join Wigan in the Championship with SAFC next season
“I’m a Sunderland player now, though, and I’ve got to get my head down and make the transition as easy as possible.
“Obviously the aim this season is to get promoted, and be back in the Championship with Wigan next year.
“That would be the dream for me, to be back at the DW Stadium, I’d love that so much. I’m not saying I wouldn’t like to score...I would!
“But hopefully I’d get a nice reception, because I loved my time at Wigan...and I’m going to miss the place so much.”
Grigg's emotional farewell to Wigan
He wrote in Wigan Today:
“If you’d have asked me at the beginning of last month, I’d have thought I’d be at Wigan for a very long time, possibly to the end of my career.
“The lads were already joking about me having a testimonial and I wouldn’t have argued with them.
“But it’s one of those things, things change so quickly in football, and you just get on with it.
“It’s amazing I was only at Wigan three-and-a-half years, but we crammed so much into that time.
“Apart from my youth days at Birmingham, it’s the longest I’ve ever spent with one club, and definitely the happiest I’ve been as a player.
“You look at the two promotions – unfortunately the one relegation – but the medals and the goals are what you look back on when you retire. There’s also the Man City game, which is a night none of us will ever forget.
“The song...where do I start with the song?! It started off as a clip on social media, suddenly the East Stand is singing it, and a few months later it’s being sung by the whole stadium at the Euros in Paris, with the words on the big screen!
“That was obviously great for me, it got my name out there...to hear Hummels, the German defender, talking about me in their press conference was surreal!
“For that to have started in Wigan was amazing, and sums up the place as a whole, just incredible.
“And Wigan as a club has always had a real family feel about it...before the game, after the game, you really feel you’re in it as one.
“Wigan will always have a special place in my heart, and this last few days have been really difficult for me personally, having to leave that behind.
“I’ve had to take some time out to step back from it all and get my head round it first of all, take away some of the emotions of it all.”
Will Grigg's record in League One
Ahead of his debut (hopefully) on Saturday, we look at why Sunderland were so keen for Grigg to lead the line...
Dickman on Kimpioka
The U23s said:
I think Benji has shown he is in and around the first-team squad and he obviously has been in some of the match-day squads, he’s trained a lot with the first team so he’s not far away from it.
“Benji is still young, he’s still got a lot to learn a lot to develop. “I thought Sunday he did smashing up there by himself, leading the line and he’s making improvements all the time.
“As long as he continues to do that that’s all we can ask for really.”
Sterling reacts to his award
He won the Premier League 2 Player of the Month for January and tweeted:
Full story: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/kazaiah-sterling-wins-premier-league-15789163
Kazaiah Sterling on joining SAFC
He said:
There was never really a doubt for me about going to play in League One.
“I felt that this was the right time for me to go out on loan.
“And Sunderland is such a big club, you don’t often get opportunities like this, especially for my first loan.
“I’ve played quite a lot of youth football and it was really important for my development for me to go out on loan and get gametime.
“That [the chance of involvement at Spurs] was definitely on my mind but I felt that, turning 20, this would be a better chance for me to play regular football rather than get on for 5mins.
“It’s always a dilemma but you have to come out of your comfort zone.
“If you look at players like Harry Kane and Andros Townsend, they stepped out of their comfort zone even earlier than I have and that has helped shape them into the players they are today.
“It’s not just about on the pitch, but also off it – little things like being away from home, which helps you mature as a player.”
Q&A - your questions answered
Yesterday we asked you for your SAFC questions and we answered them. Topics covered included Will Grigg, Charlie Wyke, promotion hopes and more... Read it here:
Roker Report meets Jack Ross and James Fowler
The Roker Report lads sat down to talk with the Sunderland gaffer and his assistant
The big Grant Leadbitter interview
Grant Leadbitter has opened up on the emotions he felt as he made his second Sunderland debut at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.
Making a huge contribution with a defence-splitting pass that led to Aiden McGeady’s winner against AFC Wimbledon, Leadbitter spoke to the i Paper after and admitted he was ‘mentally drained’ after the game.
It’s no secret that Leadbitter’s father - a former Black Cats season ticket holder had his ashed scattered inside the Wearside ground after his death. Leadbitter has made a point over the years of kissing the turf where his father now rests every time he’s returned to ground with Middlesbrough.
But Saturday’s victory over AFC Wimbledon saw the Sunderland academy graduate, now 33, return and pull on the red-and-white stripes again - a Mackem once more.
Hello and welcome to our live blog!
It’s Thursday and we’re now just two days away from Sunderland’s huge game down at Oxford and a possible debut for Will Grigg. Stick with us for all the latest.
