The strong striker message Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray reiterated ahead of latest Championship test

The Black Cats initially produced five goals in two remarkable away games following injuries to both Ross Stewart and Ellis Simms, but two stalemates on home turf have raised concern amid a demanding schedule.

Stewart is highly unlikely to return to the World Cup break, while there remains doubt over whether Simms will be able to either.

Mowbray remains confident the goals will come from the options he has within his squad, after urging Amad Diallo to be more ruthless in the box following his full debut against Blackpool.

The head coach has previously said that he expects Amad to 'burst on the scene' at some stage and again stressed that turning to the free agent market would not be the right move for the club,

"We'll stick to the plan," Mowbray said.

"The recruitment department have scoured every free transfer out there, and there are strikers out there.

"But with total respect, you could be a striker for your local team but it doesn't mean we sign you because you've got a number nine on your back. They have to fit what you do, if you're going to give out a contract they have to be part of the journey that you're going on.

"And I don't see anything wrong with trying to find the answers of finding a way to play football. When I played everyone was in 4-4-2, I marked one centre forward and my mate Gary Pallister marked the other.

"Then all of a sudden some teams started playing a number ten... what's that? who marks him? We have to get on with it. If there was a striker out there who we all liked and who fit into how we're trying to move this club forward, they'd be here.

"That's not the cause, the recruitment team have scoured the world [looking]. We'll get on with it, Man City won the league without a striker last year, with Gabriel Jesus playing out wide a lot of the time. Amad I think you could say is similar in style, he's a striker but maybe not one like Ross or Ellis.

"The top teams have a top, top centre forward but they don't have three or four others sitting around them knowing they're never going to play. Centre forwards want to play, they want to be on the pitch to score goals.

"We have to deal with it, and that's why I keep saying I don't want to moan about it. We have to find a way. We've had sixteen and fifteen shots in the last two games, but four on target isn't enough. We are getting near the opposition goal and we could easily have scored. Jack Clarke could have scored but the keeper makes a fantastic save, Elliot Embleton hits the bar.. the chances will come and we'll keep working on it."

Mowbray hinted on Thursday that he is weighing up a full debut for Jewison Bennette in the near future as he searches for that extra firepower in the final third.