Tony Mowbray insists Joe Gelhardt will rediscover his 'confidence and belief' and emerge from a 'tough period' all the stronger as the Leeds United loanee struggles for goals in Sunderland's Championship campaign. January addition Gelhardt has scored just once in eight outings for the Black Cats, despite having a number of chances to add to his tally.
Mowbray says Gelhardt is a different type of player to Ross Stewart - the man he was brought in to partner but has ended up replacing, with the Scot suffering a season-ending Achilles injury - and that has meant he has had to adapt. But while goals have been hard to come by, his all-round game has been good and he provided the assist for Abdoullah Ba in Sunday's 1-0 win at Norwich City, although just a couple of minutes later Gelhardt then failed to convert a gilt-edged chance himself.
"I see him every day in training and if he was falling way short, he wouldn't be playing - I wouldn't be putting him in the team," said Mowbray, whose Sunderland side takes on promotion-chasing Sheffield United at the Stadium of Light tonight. "Just because he is on loan from Leeds United it doesn't mean he has to play, it's his performance level that is getting him in the team.
