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Former Sunderland winger blames manager turnover for difficult spell at the Stadium of Light

Former Sunderland winger Charalampos Mavrias has opened up on his difficult time at the club, after signing a short-term deal with Scottish Premiership side Hibernian.
By The Newsroom
Published 21st Oct 2018, 13:00 BST- 2 min read
Updated 21st Oct 2018, 14:28 BST
Charalampos Mavrias while at Sunderland.Charalampos Mavrias while at Sunderland.
Charalampos Mavrias while at Sunderland.

Marvrias, 24, joined the Black Cats from Greek side Panathinaikos in 2013, when Paolo Di Canio was the manager at the Stadium of Light.

But, after returning to his former club on loan and spending time at German club Düsseldorf, the wideman left Sunderland permanently three years later - after making just seven appearances for the Black Cats.

Charalampos Mavrias while at Sunderland.Charalampos Mavrias while at Sunderland.
Charalampos Mavrias while at Sunderland.
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Marvrias, who has been capped five times by Greece, has now revealed how it was difficult to settle in the North East, due to the constant turnover of managers, many of whom he didn't even play for.

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"I was 19 years old and the point for me was to go somewhere and try to play," Marrvrias told the Edinburgh Evening News.

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"Paolo Di Canio was the manager who signed me and I played six or seven games straight away. But then the coach changed and I didn’t get my chance any more.

"There was Di Canio, Gus Poyet, Sam Allardyce, Dick Advocaat, David Moyes – I don’t know if I’ve missed someone out – I’ve said five already,

"It’s difficult, especially in the Premier League. They have a lot of money and in every transfer period they are spending a lot of money. It is hard for players because someone else is coming in and you have to step back a little bit."

READ: Josh Maja has an off day as Sunderland boss discusses performance and provides ankle injury update

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Marvrias had been without a club since his contract with Croatian side Rijeka ended in June, but has been handed a three-month deal at Easter Road.

The winger now hopes to stay at Hibs long term, after ex-Sunderland target and former team-mate Florian Kamberi recommended the Scottish outfit.

"Flo told me good things about the club. I had followed what he was doing and knew he was here and saw how he did well and helped the club," said Marvrias.

"I left my last team at the end of June and I was looking for a good move. I had some offers from some Greek teams, but I didn’t want to go back to Greece. There are only really four or five teams there now, the level below that is really low. I didn’t want to go back for that reason.

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"I know I started playing there for Panathinaikos and from there I got the chance to move to Sunderland and that was great.

"Now I would like to stay abroad. So I waited a bit and then I got an offer to come to Hibs for a trial. I thought it was my best opportunity to get back to a high level. So I tried to do my best and then they made me an offer."