Tony Mowbray says it will take 'a few transfer windows' for Sunderland to bridge the gap between their current situation and the levels set by automatic promotion candidates Sheffield United. The Black Cats ran the Blades close at the Stadium of Light, and only a controversial goal - which the referee admitted afterwards should have been disallowed for offside - handed the visitors victory and prevented Mowbray's men earning a point.
But while Sunderland competed for long spells against the South Yorkshire side, Mowbray felt there was a difference in quality and experience between the sides with the Black Cats having only just returned to the Championship after four seasons in League One, whereas the Blades were playing Premier League football the season before last, qualified for the play-offs last season, and are currently on course to win automatic promotion. Sunderland are in the process of building a team and have signed a number of young, exciting, talents including foreign players such as Edouard Michut - who scored Sunderland's goal last night - Abdoullah Ba, Jewison Bennette, and Isaac Lihadji, who are still adapting to the demands of the English game.
"We were better in the second half, and yet their quality showed in the first half," said Mowbray, "and rightly so because they were playing in the Premier League while we were in League One.
