Tony Mowbray is happy to play down Sunderland's play-off chances despite the Black Cats staying in touch with the Championship's top six. Sunderland's win against Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light yesterday lifted the Wearsiders to ninth in the table, and they are now just a single point outside the play-off spots where Norwich City and Boro are level on points and sit fifth and sixth respectively.
Sunderland won promotion from League One via the play-offs last term but have spent the majority of the current campaign in the top half of the Championship table. And while that has raised hopes amongst supporters that the club can challenge for a play-off spot, Mowbray insists there is no pressure on him and his players from the 'men in suits' in the boardroom - at least, not this season.
"There's no huge expectation from the people in suits to get to the play-offs or get promotion, we just have to keep trying to produce a football team that can compete in this division and then as we build it over the next year or two the aspirations for the team will get higher," he said. "I like this group of players, they work really hard.
READ MORE: Sunderland's Ross Stewart admits luck was on his side as he notched his tenth Championship goal
"They finished fifth in League One last year and they are adapting to this division, working really hard to be a decent team. We have to grow it incrementally."
Sunderland have made no secret of their plan to build gradually rather than spend large sums chasing instant results, with the latter approach having seen many clubs in the second tier suffer severe financial problems. Instead Sunderland have set out their stall to bring in young, talented, players who can be developed alongside homegrown players from the club's academy, to play alongside a handful of experienced, wise, heads.
And so far that formula has paid off, with promotion last term followed by a strong performance to date in their first season back in the Championship. Against Boro, top scorer Ross Stewart - who was one of the club's unheralded finds when he joined from Ross County two years ago - scored his 11th goal of the season, before on-loan Manchester United forward Amad added the second.
Of the players who arrived last summer, Amad has had the greatest impact but Mowbray says the likes of on-loan Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Edouard Michut, Abdoullah Ba, and Costa Rica international winger Jewison Bennette - who all played a part against Boro - are improving with every appearance. He said: "Every time Edouard Michut gets on the pitch he gets more confidence and belief, and the same with [Abdoullah] Ba and the same with Jewison [Bennette].
"Young players have got to be given opportunity to grow and then somewhere down the line they can start affecting the game like Amad affects the game."
Sunderland now take a brief pause from the Championship as they prepare for Saturday's FA Cup fourth round tie against Premier League Fulham at Craven Cottage.
READ NEXT:
- Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray's reaction to the win over Middlesbrough as he issues injury update
- Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick unhappy with key decisions in Sunderland defeat
- Sunderland player ratings as Amad, Ross Stewart and Dan Neil among star men in Middlesbrough win
Find the footballs on the ChronicleLive website to win prizes worth £3,000'
- Tony Mowbray confirms Sunderland searching for permanent additions this month
