The crucial role Tony Mowbray wants his Sunderland players to embrace as competition for places rises

Mowbray revealed on Thursday that he is close to having a full squad available for the first time in his tenure, with Ross Stewart set to play some part against West Brom on Monday night. Daniel Ballard and Edouard Michut will not be involved but are not far behind the Scot, with the former set to play for the U21s against Reading next week.

That means Mowbray has a number of dilemmas all over the pitch, having already spoken about his desire to try and find a place in the XI for both Amad and Patrick Roberts.

The return of Stewart also hands Mowbray the chance to replicate Alex Neil's strategy from earlier in the campaign of pairing him up front with Ellis Simms.

Mowbray wants his squad to take note of the impact many substitutes are having in the World Cup and to view it as an opportunity rather than a snub.

"I try to sell to them that it's a squad game and that can be difficult," he explained.

"The main thing is that there's a logic [to your decision]. Patrick for example is not sulking or causing any problems, he understands that Amad is on fire in his position.

"If we decide to play two up front, for example, do we go 4-4-2 or do we go to a back five and where does that leave some of our technical players who have been doing so well in the wide areas? These are the decisions we have to make and they'll be guided too by the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition.

"I like the idea of a squad game because a game is 90 minutes, you can win the game in the last 20 and if you look at the World Cup with England they've shown that, the substitutes have generally finished the game off.

"There's no reason why that can't happen here and what I keep saying to the players is that if I don't pick you - it's not because I've fallen out of love with you or I think you're not working hard enough or aren't good enough, it's because we need this team to start again this opposition. "Who's to say you're not to come on and win it for us? Then the picture changes for the next game.

"It's my job to win matches and develop players and to try and give the team an identity. I want that identity to be the same no matter what the formation - and for the fans to enjoy it. Playing forward passes, making forward runs, getting people in the box - those sorts of things need to remain regardless of the formation."

The competition for places was last weekend underlined when Niall Huggins and Jay Matete missed out on the matchday squad despite impressing against Birmingham and then in Dubai.