Tony Mowbray admits he needs his senior players to help lead the Sunderland youngsters going forward. The new Black Cats boss took charge of his first game earlier this week, with the Wearsiders romping to a 3-0 win over Rotherham United.
Jack Clarke was one of the standout performers, creating two for Ross Stewart and scoring a wonderful solo goal to round off the scoring. Mowbray had just 24 hours to prepare for the game following Alex Neil's controversial departure last week.
The new Stoke City boss spoke about being aligned with his new owners, amid talk he wasn't backed in the transfer market. Sunderland themselves unveiled four new signings at half-time against the Millers, all four arriving full of promise.
READ MORE: Sunderland's Jack Clarke issues defiant message following stellar Rotherham United showing
“Having spoken to the owner, I genuinely think they have got a plan," Mowbray told the Sunderland Echo. "I didn’t feel as if I needed to get back into football so early. I talked about leaving Blackburn, having a rest, spending time with family, having some holidays and playing football with my kids in the back garden.
“But I feel as if there is a plan from the owners. They are not saying ‘Sunderland have to win the league this year’. They want to grow this club incrementally, they don’t want to spend £100 million this summer. Put talent and quality into your club and let it grow.
“I talked to them about the senior players. The senior players have to set the standard in the dressing room. Corry Evans and Danny Batths have to lead and they have to be good. They have to set the standard so the kids see how to be a footballer.
“Whether we're too young at the moment, we’ll have to wait and see. I mentioned Blackburn being the second youngest team in the league behind Barnsley who unfortunately got relegated. This team, there is a lot of talent that we have to let flourish. The senior players have to lead.
“Evans is a wonderful reader of the game and is brave and Batth is an old school central defender in the ilk of myself who wins headers, competes and has a good voice. Let’s see how far we can take it but every transfer window, let's keep trying to grow good players into the club.
"The ones that come in, by the next window in a few months will be further developed and before you know it, you have got a club full of talent and the phones ringing from Premier League clubs and clubs in Europe for every player. You’ve got them young and they are not earning money where you can’t afford to keep them so I think that’s the plan.
“To keep the fans happy, you have to win football matches along the way. It’s okay having a plan but you have to win games. I think the owners understand we aren’t going to win every match and we are going to have days where it doesn’t work for us but we have to keep believing, pushing on and going together."
