Exclusive:'Very competitive' - Football pundit has Europa League warning to Sunderland squad
Sunderland started their Europa League campaign with a 1-0 win over AZ Alkmaar.
Former top flight football player-turned-manager turned-pundit Tim Sherwood says Sunderland need to enjoy their European adventure - but has cast doubt over their squad depth.
Sunderland started their Europa League campaign with a 1-0 win over AZ Alkmaar at the Stadium of Light last week. Next up for the Black Cats is a trip to Portugal next month to face SCU Torreense and club officials have revealed that SAFC have been given 3,990 tickets for the game. The group stage phase matchday two fixture will take place at Estádio Municipal de Leiria, in Leiria, on Thursday, October 15 (5.45pm KO).
There is a huge amount of excitement on Wearside this season but former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder and now Sky Sports pundit Sherwood has urged caution.
Speaking exclusively to the Echo, via MaxFreeBets, Sherwood said: “It can happen. It can happen to teams like Bournemouth as well, like Brighton at the top end of the table. Once the extra games come along, have they got the thickness of the squad to be able to cope? Remains to be seen.
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"I doubt they possibly have at Sunderland. But having fought so hard to get there, there's no point just throwing it away. You might as well try and be as competitive as you possibly can. Le Bris has done a brilliant job there at Sunderland. The Europa League, just enjoy the journey, enjoy it while you can, because it's very competitive to continue to perform at that level and get into Europe.”
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