Tony Mowbray insists he has no regrets over resting Patrick Roberts at Rotherham - despite the impact he made from the bench in the midweek defeat. Roberts was left out of the starting XI as one of three changes made by Mowbray at the New York Stadium on a disappointing night that ended in a shock 2-1 defeat which saw Sunderland drop out of the play-off spots.
Roberts came on just after the hour mark and his introduction added an extra dimension to the Black Cats' attacking play, albeit they were unable to conjure an equaliser. Mowbray says Roberts needed a breather, pointing out that it would have been his sixth start in 18 days and had he not given him a break there was a real danger he could have picked up an injury.
"It would have been Patrick's sixth game in such a short time," said Mowbray, who is likely to restore Roberts to his starting XI for this weekend's trip to Coventry. "I know I drive him hard, shouting at him, because we can all see what he does when he is on the ball and he has responsibilities off the ball and he is working extremely hard to fulfil those responsibilities.
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"I'm not sure that [off the ball work] is something he has always had to do. I just felt that he looked drained and tired, and yet not when he is on the ball doing what he does.
"I felt he needed a breather, really. Otherwise the scenario running through my mind is that for the greed of wanting to keep on playing them, you lose them for the rest of the season because they snap their hamstring or something serious happens to them because of fatigue when they can't quite get there and they are pushing their bodies too hard.
"I felt it was a game we could have and should have been able to get through without [him], just as the week before we had made three changes and managed to get through a game [at QPR]. Patrick is a wonderful talent, I've said that before and I don't need to keep on saying it, I shouldn't really consider picking a team without Patrick and yet - because of the FA Cup replay - we didn't get a breather for four weeks and we've played a lot of football.
"I felt it was the right thing to do, and it is easy to sit here in hindsight and say I should never have picked a team without Roberts, look at the difference he made when he came on. I accept it, I understand it, but we make the decisions for the right reasons and we live by the results that come our way.
"I've got no regrets. I thought we could get through that particular game [at Rotherham] and then have him ready for this weekend [against Coventry City] and yet we didn't get through it, and he did make a huge impact when he came on.
"It's not a surprise that your top players make your team better, it's what football is. Hopefully the hour or so he had off the pitch, we will get the benefits of that this weekend and he will hopefully contribute to the team being successful at Coventry."
Mowbray is mindful of the demands on his players, particularly on key men such as Roberts, Amad, Jack Clarke, and Joe Gelhardt, with the responsibility on their shoulders increased due to the season-ending injuries suffered by Ross Stewart and Corry Evans. But, after this weekend, the schedule will ease slightly with no midweek games for the next fortnight, allowing the players more time to rest and recover between matches.
He said: "No football team is just about 11 or 12 players, it is about 20-odd players and you have to be able to trust them and keep on putting them in the team and hopefully getting positive results. It's just how many changes do you make - do you make one or two, or do you make four or five?
"I would love to pick Patrick and Amad and whoever for 90 minutes every game and just let them play, but you can't do that every week. Danny Batth came off [in the second half at Rotherham] as well, and I have to very mindful of players who are playing every minute of every game.
"But less so after Saturday. If we get through Saturday, we will have a full week's recovery before the next one to rest, recover, prepare and then play."
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