Ex-Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips believes Tony Mowbray is a "great" manager to take the Black Cats forward ahead of their Monday night clash with West Bromwich Albion.
Mowbray and co restarted their Championship campaign last weekend against Millwall with a 3-0 win, a result which catapulted the Black Cats up the table to 10th.
While results on Saturday afternoon saw them drop one place to 11th, a win over West Brom could see Sunderland go as high as sixth.
READ MORE: Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray recalls his spat with Roy Keane in Championship promotion race
Having spent time at both clubs, Phillips and Mowbray are more than familiar with the two sides who face off at the Stadium of Light on Monday.
Phillips bagged 130 and 46 goals for Sunderland and West Brom respectively during his spells at each club while Mowbray managed the Baggies for three years between 2006 and 2009.
And speaking ahead of the clash between the two sides, Phillips, who is currently managing South Shields, revealed he recently spoke to Mowbray at Sunderland's training ground just a few weeks ago.
"Tony’s a great guy, we had a good conversation at Sunderland’s training ground a couple of weeks ago," Phillips recently told the Express & Star.
"He loved every minute of Albion. He’s done very well since going in at Sunderland, it’s two managers going head-to-head who are in good form with good experience, I’ve got the utmost respect for Tony Mowbray."
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