Sunderland need have 'no fears' about their Championship campaign turning into a relegation struggle - with Tony Mowbray insisting they have no reason to look over their shoulder. After a very positive start that left them in and around the play-off places in the first half of September, injuries to key players - not least strikers Ross Stewart and Ellis Simms, which left them without a centre-forward - have seen the Black Cats slip down to lower midtable.
But Mowbray has seen enough to convince him that Sunderland can hold their own in this league, and with Simms already being eased back into action, and the likes of Stewart, defenders Daniel Ballard and Aji Alese, and Lynden Gooch, due to return after the World Cup break that will interrupt the campaign after the next three games, he is positive about the remainder of the season. "It gives me some confidence, to be honest, to feel that we're going to be fine," said Mowbray of the prospect of those players returning.
"Let's not look over our shoulder. You could talk about us only being a couple of points above the bottom three, but we're also only seven points from the play-offs - the league is just ridiculously tight at the moment.
