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.
