Sunderland opt to postpone Fleetwood Town clash due to international call-ups

Sunderland have opted to postpone the upcoming fixture against Fleetwood Town

Joey Barton’s side were due to visit the Stadium of Light next Saturday but the Black Cats have announced that they have now received the three call-ups required to request a postponement, which the EFL has granted.

Jon McLaughlin was named in the Scotland squad for their upcoming fixtures, while Conor McLaughlin and Tom Flanagan were picked for Northern Ireland duty last time out.

After postponing a fixture against Burton Albion earlier this season, Jack Ross admitted that he was keen to try and avoid doing similar as the season develops.

However, he has made the decision for next Saturday’s game as Conor McLaughlin settles into his first-choice starting XI, with Luke O’Nien thriving further up the field.

“It’s not ideal,” Ross previously said.

“I know people will point to the win over Burnley [to show they should play].

“We have to plan these things fairly well in advance, and when the information comes through, it’s three first team regulars, or certainly three players around the squad all the time.

“Then you can’t predict what will happen between now and then, you could get three injuries on Saturday, another three in training and then it wouldn’t look very sensible.

“What I would say is that it’s something we have to think long and hard about continuing to do over the course of the season.

“I think it was sensible [in this instance] with the players that we’re missing and we’ve obviously had a busy schedule, but we don’t want to fall behind in terms of fixtures.

“We don’t want to be playing catch up, we want to try and make sure that if we’re up there we’re setting the pace,” he added.

“It’s not an excuse for last season, but it is challening when you’re continually trying to catch up on games.”

A club statement reads: “Originally scheduled to take place on Saturday 12 October, the Wearside clash will now be rescheduled, with further details to follow in due course.

“Tickets already purchased will remain valid for the re-arranged date.”