League One boss makes Will Grigg claim as Swindon coach delivers verdict on 'very, very good' Sunderland

Grigg had a hugely successful spell at MK Dons earlier his career, and Russell Martin’s side had been on the search for striking reinforcements after the sale of Rhys Healey earlier this summer.

Evans saw his side lose 2-0 away to MK Dons on Saturday afternoon, with former Norwich City striker Cameron Jerome scoring on his debut.

“It is a tough league, we are trying to compete against some huge clubs with big money and MK Dons are one of them,” Evans told Kent Online.

"MK signed Cameron Jerome and they have been trying to sign Will Grigg [from Sunderland] all week. We are in a different market and we have to go in and some days we will get a lesson like that.

"They were better than us, they have an outstanding squad, we can’t afford the front two, [Carlton] Morris and Jerome, it’s an outstanding club. What do we do? We learn from it. They are young and we will be positive on Monday.”

Grigg was an unused substitute as Sunderland ran out 2-0 winners over Swindon Town at the County Ground.

Charlie Wyke took his chance to lead the line, earning praise from Phil Parkinson for an ‘excellent’ display.

“Charlie's all-round performance was excellent,” Parkinson said.

“He wons header, ran the channels, pressed well and got a goal. He’s got to put demands on himself on that front because he’s more than capable.

"I thought the work ethic was outstanding today. That starts with the front two, Charlie and Chrissy [Maguire] both got a goal but it's about more than that, it’s about closing down and they laid a great platform for us.”

Swindon coach Tommy Wright said the Black Cats had been ‘more organised’ in the opening stages of the game, and said there were positives to take from defeat to a ‘very,very good’ side.

“In the first half, Sunderland looked stronger and more organised, and maybe a bit more streetwise than us,” he said.

“They were on top of the game without creating a lot, but then we gave a very, very bad goal away.

“A simple cross came in the box, and a striker who’s done well in the past is free to knock it into the back of the net. So we’re disappointed with that.

“I thought in the second half, we were much better.

“We came at them, then we gave a poor penalty away, but we kept going at them,” he added.

“At this moment in time, we’ve got a lot of young players in the team and they need a bit of help.

“The senior players have to step up in that situation, but I thought in the second half, there were a lot of positives to take.

“They’re a very good team, very experienced, got a lot of players who have played at a very, very high level, so we’re disappointed with the result, but there were a lot of positives to take.”

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