Sunderland's Daniel Ballard has hailed Tony Mowbray's man management after reports suggested the 59-year-old could be replaced as Black Cats boss. The former Boro boss was appointed as Alex Neil's successor in August last year and guided the Wearsiders to a top-six finish in his first season in charge, but shock reports suggested Mowbray could be replaced by Italian Francesco Fariol.
Mowbray has spoken about his desire to stay on beyond this summer, while Kristjaan Speakman downplayed talk of replacing the current Black Cats boss. Mowbray's men were beaten by Luton Town over the course of two legs in the play-off semi-final, with the Hatters going on to win promotion to the Premier League. “His man-management is his big strength," Ballard told the Athletic.
"We all feel like he’s backing us and he gives us that confidence to play freely. The football we played is really good to watch. He knows we’ve got great young technical players and he plays to our strengths.
