Phil Parkinson lifts the lid on Sunderland's pre-season plans and reveals the latest on friendly fixtures

Plans for pre-season friendlies are also expected to be announced soon with Parkinson keen to discuss potential opponents with his staff before finalising warm-up games.

As reported by the Echo this morning, Sunderland’s players are set to return to the Academy of Light on Wednesday, July 29 to begin their preparations for the new League One season.

And Parkinson is planning a gentle introduction for the squad – incorporating pre-season testing – before the intensity is ramped-up the following week, giving the Black Cats six weeks to prepare for the new campaign.

“It’s been a long wait for us all, for all the players and the staff, and I’m really pleased that we’ll be getting them all back in on Wednesday,” said the Sunderland manager.

“It’s been frustrating for the players because they haven’t had much information, and we haven’t had much to share with them, but we always said that the minute we get a start date, things are ready to fall back into place.

“I feel Wednesday is the right day to bring them back, it gives us six-and-a-half weeks to prepare for the start of the season.

“A normal pre-season lasts around six weeks, and this gives us a chance to have a few days where we can spend some time with the players, ease them in, and do some testing, getting them ready to start training properly the following Monday.”

Sunderland, like most League One clubs, are yet to confirm any plans for pre-season friendlies – with warm-up fixtures set to be played behind closed doors as per the current government guidelines.

And while potential opponents have been discussed, Parkinson is keen to liaise with his coaching staff in further detail before a plan is put in place to build-up to the League One season beginning on September 12.

“We’ve talked about friendlies and where they might be played, but at the moment I just want to get all the staff back together and when we do that we’ll give it some more thought,” he admitted.

“We’ll decide when we want the friendlies to start, and we’ll start piecing things together from there.”

Sunderland's return to the Academy of Light will come with a new raft of protocols – including social distancing measures and COVID-19 testing.

"I spoke to a few of the players myself, others have been spoken to by other people within the club, and on Monday they will all get an email telling them what protocol they need to follow,” Parkinson explained.

“I’m just pleased that we’ll be getting everyone back, I will be able to spend some time with the staff and talk about where we are with the squad and in terms of recruitment.”

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