Tony Mowbray insists the 'wheels are in motion' for Sunderland's summer recruitment drive - even though the club does not yet know in which division it will be competing next season. The Black Cats secured a top six finish on the final day of the Championship season to book a play-off place, with the first leg of their semi-final against Luton Town set to take place at the Stadium of Light tomorrow evening.
And, as it stands, Sunderland do not know whether they will be gearing up for a second season in the Championship, or looking to make the giant leap into the Premier League just 12 months after winning promotion from League One. The return against Luton takes place on Tuesday night and, if Sunderland lose over two legs, they can start to prepare for another Championship campaign.
But if they reach Wembley, the uncertainty will go on until the final takes place on May 26. Yet Sunderland cannot afford to put their recruitment plans on hold and Mowbray is being kept in touch with developments even as he readies his team for the games against Luton - although, if Sunderland did win promotion, they would then be looking in a very different marketplace.
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Asked if he had opted out of recruitment meetings with key figures such as sporting director Kristjaan Speakman and head of recruitment Stuart Harvey until the play-offs are concluded, Mowbray said: "Not quite that. If I do that, they'll probably think I'm not interested - and I am interested in the players that we sign!
"Everything lands on my laptop for me to look at and check - snapshots of players from around the world that we have got on our radar. I always give them feedback, I tell them 'he's good, I like this one, I think this one is better than that one'.
"Yet as I sit here now, the wheels are rolling - they are in motion. It's good, because the wheels need to move. This year has shown that, because the injuries we have had have shown the areas we need to strengthen.
"I am involved in the recruitment, Kristjaan is coming into my office and we are discussing some players, but he knows that I need to focus on where we are at the moment."
After years of disastrous recruitment as the club struggled in the Premier League and ultimately sunk into League One, Sunderland adopted a very different approach under new owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, which has been overseen by Speakman and Harvey. The age profile of the squad has been reduced dramatically, to the extent that the Black Cats have the youngest group of players in the Championship.
They have concentrated on bringing in young players with potential, and the strategy has paid off. But if Sunderland did win promotion back to the top flight they would need to add many more experienced players in order to compete, although they would receive a massive injection of TV cash which would finance the upgrades required.
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