Graeme Murty discusses his arrival at Sunderland and his first chats with Tony Mowbray

Sunderland's new U21 boss Graeme Murty says he has joined a club on the up after overseeing his first game in charge at the Stadium of Light on Monday night.
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The Black Cats were beaten 1-0 by table-topping Leeds United, with the goal scored by Italy international Wilfried Gnonto.

Sunderland fielded a strong side of their own, with a number of first-team squad players completing the 90 minutes.

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The former Rangers boss says he will take a gradual approach to putting his own stamp on the side and set up.

Sunderland U21s boss Graeme MurtySunderland U21s boss Graeme Murty
Sunderland U21s boss Graeme Murty

"You just look at the status of the club and you think it's something that appears to be on the up and you want to be a part of," Murty said.

"You come and chat, you're asked to join and I can't help but be impressed by the aspirations and the facility. The academy is brilliant and I've been really welcomed by everyone.

"I've got no doubt I've forgotten so many people's names in conversation, but that's part of it when getting used to a new environment. Everyone has been really welcoming and I've been really pleased with how they've gone about everything.

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“I’m still not going to come in and run over the processes that are in place – it’s my job to come in and take a measured view.

“I need to be here to add value to what we’ve done before, but also to help everyone move forward and if I can do that, I’ll have done my job.

“We need to look at the positives within the programme, but also have a new perspective on what’s going on so we can move on and evolve what we’re doing.”

Sunderland's U21s welcome Reading to Eppleton on Friday night, with Murty likely to be selecting from his U21 players in that game.

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Murty revealed that while the Leeds defeat was used to get valuable minutes for senior players, head coach Tony Mowbray gave him the freedom to manage the game as he saw fit.

The new boss also said that he has already had a good discussion with Mowbray about his footballing philosophy as he looks to help improve the pathway for the club's young talent.

"He's wanted to leave me to find my feet and it was really interesting today when he said 'Don't worry about my thoughts, go and manage the game as you would normally manage the game," Murty said.

“There are the minutes for the players if you can, but if you want to make changes tactically, go and make them. Go and be free and manage as you will, this is what I like.'

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"I got an insight into how he likes his teams to play which is really, really nice to see and really open. I have to say, all of the staff have been that way so it's made the transition into the job really easy."

Reading’s visit will be Sunderland’s first game of the Premier League Cup group stage; they currently sit second bottom of Premier League 2 Division 2.