Patrick Roberts has likened the 'atmosphere and expectation' at Sunderland to that at Celtic - and believes it will help him reprise the career-best form he showed north of the Border. Forward Roberts joined Sunderland from Manchester City in January, following an unsuccessful loan spell at French club Troyes.
The 25-year-old also spent loan spells in Spain, Scotland, and in England, while a Man City player, but it was in during his two-and-a-half year stint playing in front of 60,000 fans at Celtic Park that he made the greatest impact. Now he is playing at Sunderland in front of 30,000 fans at the Stadium of Light in League One, and Roberts - who scored his first goal for the club in the home game against Crewe 10 days ago - says he thrives on that kind of pressure.
"Obviously I've had experiences like this with big crowds before," said Roberts. "Coming here is the same kind of atmosphere and same kind of expectation from the club, from the fans.
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"I love playing at clubs like this and it's where I play my best football. I love the fans getting off their seats and winning games for clubs like this.
"It's just something you have to get your head around and get used to, it's not a bad thing. You want the fans there and want them on your side.
"My best football came when I was playing in front of 60,000 fans in Scotland. I come here and there are 30,000 at the Stadium of Light and it's the same kind of feeling, just obviously a different league.
"There is the same motivation, same ambition, same expectation from the whole club down to us players and we want to get the job done. Obviously the support has been amazing and we hope that continues, and we'll do our best on the pitch as usual.
"I'm just here to carry that on and do as best as I can for this football club to get them where they want to be."
Roberts arrived on Wearside short of gametime having not played for Troyes since September, and he has had to build up his match fitness gradually. He said: "When I came in first off I kind of knew I hadn't been playing a lot of football, as much as I was eager to play.
"It was about building that up and getting to a place where I was physically comfortable. The manager spoke to me all the time and knew that, and I knew that, so it was just about working hard every day in training and waiting for my chance.
"Credit to the manager [Alex Neil], he's been great since he came in and has been very good tactically, mentally, and he gets you in the right place. He didn't have to say much to me, he just wants me to go out there and do what I do best and that's all I can try and do to help him and the team as best I can."
Roberts completed his first 90 minutes for Sunderland in Saturday's goalless draw at Lincoln, when he played a starring role in a game where the scoreline did not reflect the Black Cats' dominance. Sunderland remain sixth in the table and on course for a play-off place, but they could have tightened their grip on a top six finish had they beaten Lincoln because several of their rivals dropped points.
"It's a tough place to come," he said of Lincoln. "There was a full crowd and the idea is obviously to get more points on the board.
"We came here with the idea to win and we had chances but we couldn't score. We have to be able to do that. It was a good performance but we should be winning these games. We are at the back end of the season and it's a tough league so we have to stick in there.
"We have some experienced boys and there is a good morale at the moment and we are kicking on. Clean sheets are important but we have to add at the other end of the pitch. We were just unfortunate on Saturday."
Sunderland have no game next weekend due to the international break, but will resume their campaign at home to struggling Gillingham, with games against play-off rivals Oxford United and Plymouth still to come later in April. Roberts said: "After the break we have some big games against teams above us or in and around us.
"It's a good mix of games and we’ve just got to try and get as many points on the board as possible."
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