Tony Mowbray has 'really enjoyed' his first month in charge of Sunderland as he continues their preparation for the Championship campaign. The international break has given the Black Cats boss an opportunity to take stock of his first four games in charge, while also setting out his vision for the future at the Stadium of Light.
Speaking to safc.com, Mowbray said: "Well it's been really enjoyable. I think if you take the Middlesbrough game out, which was a real knock minutes before kick-off with Ross [Stewart] coming out of the team - after the planning - we had two days really good prep for that game and we had to change the formation literally right on kick-off which took us out of our rhythm.
"We eventually found a good rhythm but couldn't find a way to score. We probably deserved to take something from that game but we didn't. Take that away and I think three goals at home against Rotherham was great for the team, it was a really enjoyable environment first time in charge at the Stadium of Light.
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"To go to Reading and score three again without strikers, was really good, some really enterprising play. What I've found is there's some really talented footballers here and they just need to be given the confidence to trust their talent, go and play, express what you're good at and make sure you always lock the door behind at the back so when we're attacking we're also aware of the defensive side of the game.
"Generally really talented footballers that teams in this league might struggle against the individuality of some of our players. To go away to Watford - who were in the Premier League last year and we were in League One - there's a big potential gulf in the individual players and yet I think we coped pretty well with the day and I think at the end there was a slight disappointment that we didn't take all three points.
"How's it gone? Wherever I've gone, I actually had a Sunday morning in Durham and got inundated with Sunderland fans everywhere I went really. It just makes you aware of how important the football is to people really. It's quite amazing.
"I was at Spennymoor on Sunday and everybody is a Sunderland fan. It's a special club and you can feel it's a special club. I just hope that we can find a way to make it an enjoyable season for everybody.
"I feel as though I have to temper expectation a little bit because we're not one of the big - we're a big boy in terms of size of club in the league in terms of fanbase and everything - but we have just come out of League One and the squad needs growing and developing and nurturing with the younger players.
"Hopefully it's an enjoyable season for everybody and we have some amazing days with some great victories along the way with exciting times. On a personal level, everyone at the training ground has been fantastic and the lads are great, they just need nurturing."
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