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.