Squad decision confirmed and potential team hint: The key Sunderland quotes ahead of Huddersfield Town clash
By Phil Smith
Published 29th Nov 2023, 09:00 BST
Updated 29th Nov 2023, 09:34 BST
Sunderland face Huddersfield Town on Wednesday night as they look to get back to winning ways at the Stadium of Light following a frustrating defeat to Plymouth Argyle.
There was a slight change to the pre-match press conference on Tuesday afternoon, with assistant head coach Mark Venus stepping up to discuss all the latest on and off the pitch at the Academy of Light.
Here’s the key quotes from his briefing, with some important team news and much else besides...
5. COULD IT BE AT EKWAH'S EXPENSE?
Mowbray said after the game on Saturday that he felt Ekwah is still a little off the pace following that difficult dead leg injury that sidelined him for a number of weeks.
That leaves the coaching staff with a difficult dilemma, getting the balance right between helping Ekwah build up his sharpness and picking the strongest team in its current condition.
One option, as they ended the game on Saturday, would be to bring Aouchiche in as the ten and to drop Jobe Bellingham deeper.
"He had a period out of the team where, due to his injury, it was very difficult for him to condition himself," Venus said of Ekwah.
"I think he just has to keep training hard, do bits of extra training when the week allows him to, and use the gametime to get himself back to where he was.
"He is certainly at the forefront of that position, really. He's taken on that responsibility very well until his injury. He's a young boy, this is his first experience of first-team football, but he understands the demands of the role and what it entails." Photo: FRANK REID
Bennette returned from international duty with a virus last week, and has been absent from the training ground as he recovers. Mark Venus confirmed that the winger is still not been back training this week, meaning he is not available to compete for a place on the bench for Wednesday night. Photo: FRANK REID
Venus had his say on the ongoing lack of goals from the club's strikers, saying: "It would help [if they got on the scoresheet].
"It's not as if we haven't scored, we've scored plenty compared to the division. They're talented guys, they've come into the club from different parts of the world and it isn't easy to settle into this league. Everyone will tell you how tough this league is - hopefully as we go along and they train and hard and make that adaptation, I'm sure the talent will come through and they'll contribute.
"It's such a hard and intense division, you see teams come down from the Premier League and it takes them a while to find their feet. As long as they're working hard, we're all pulling in the same direction to make it happen."
All eyes are on who Mowbray chooses to go with in the meantime. Photo: Frank Reid
With Sunderland back on home turf, Venus spoke of the importance of the home support.
"The fans have been amazing since I've been here, they've been right behind the team from the very outset. I think they enjoy the way the team play, I think they like attacking players and we're trying to attack, score goals. The hardest part of moulding teams together is to attack and to score. They're with us and we're really with them, I think it's a club where everyone is together." Photo: Frank Reid