What rival managers have said about Sunderland’s Championship return - including Sheffield United and Burnley bosses

Sunderland are 20 games into their return to the Championship and currently sit in 15th place with 27 points. It has been a solid start for the Black Cats who have already had to deal with injury worries and a managerial switch since the beginning of the campaign.

Here, we take a look at what a selection of Championship managers have said about Sunderland’s efforts this season, the atmosphere at the Stadium of Light and the performances of some of their key men:

Coventry City boss Mark Robins on Stadium of Light

Speaking after the draw on opening day, Coventry City boss Robins was happy to see his side take home a point from a raucous Stadium of Light.

Robins said: "When you come to a place like this, riding the crest of a wave after promotion, how noisy it can get, you try to diffuse that by keeping the ball and building some pressure. We didn't do that.

"Any point in the Championship is a good point. Especially in the circumstances, coming here on the opening day of the season after four years away from the Championship.”

Bristol City boss Nigel Pearson on Sunderland duo Stewart and Simms

Sunderland’s first win of the season came away at Bristol City and Pearson was full of praise for the pairing of Ellis Simms and Ross Stewart up-front. Pearson said: "Credit to them they put us under pressure. Their front two were quite lively but we still made basic errors which we've been punished for and that is a big frustration.”

Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom on ‘front foot’ approach

Despite ending up on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline at Bramall Lane, Sunderland’s ten men battled well against Sheffield United and could easily have earned themselves a point. Blades boss Heckingbottom praised Sunderland for their approach to the game.

He said: "I thought in the first half we weren't [at our best], a bit down to us, we weren't as composed on the ball as we wanted to be and credit to Sunderland - they stepped onto us and took risks, fair play to them. Some do that to us here but a lot don't.”

Rotherham United boss Paul Warne on scoreline

Tony Mowbray’s first game in charge of Sunderland saw them run out 3-0 winners at home to fellow promoted side Rotherham United. Paul Warne, now in charge of Derby County, admitted that the scoreline flattered his side.

Warne said: "It's always tough to face a team that's changed manager even if they're in a terrible run, and Sunderland have been playing really well. In the second half they played the game that we wanted to, they got the ball wide, had 1-v-1s, their attacking players had a good night.

"In fairness the scoreline could have been greater, they deserved their win and I've got no complaints about that.”

Ex-Middlesbrough boss Chris Wilder on atmosphere

Sunderland tasted defeat in the Tees-Wear derby in September in a game that Wilder believed could have gone either way at the Riverside Stadium.

"There was a great atmosphere with both sets of supporters.” Wilder said. “It was a really competitive game, with chances at both ends. Possibly more chances for us first half. Sunderland no doubt dominated the second half.

"You have to give credit to the opposition. I've been in that position before when you are a promoted side and you do play with that fearlessness and freedom when you get promoted. They played like that. It was maybe not one of our best performances.”

Reading boss Paul Ince on desire

The Black Cats followed up disappointment against Boro with a superb win away at an in-form Reading side. The Royals boss wasn’t happy with his side’s performance that night.

Ince said: "We didn't get into midfield, onto the second balls and we weren't competitive or aggressive enough. They wanted it more than us.

“This has brought us back down to earth. We have to stay in the league and to do that we have to compete and fight to win. You have to do the basics but we didn't do that.

"They were hungrier than us, showed more desire and determination.”

Blackpool chief Michael Appleton on individuals

The second of back-to-back goalless draws for Sunderland came against Blackpool and Appleton was pleased his side were able to keep the Black Cats’ dangermen quiet: "The two boys Pritchard and Embleton in that number 10 role caused us a few issues which I felt we dealt with at half-time.” Appleton said.

“Clearly the two wide boys are a massive part of their game but we were almost happy for them to have the ball in the wide areas and try and show them down the line rather than show them inside, but there were a couple of occasions where we lost our concentration.”

Blackburn’s Jon Dahl Tomasson on Sunderland’s grit

Although Blackburn Rovers ran out 2-0 winners at Ewood Park last month, Tomasson recognised that Sunderland had put them under great pressure during the game. Tomasson said: “It was a very tactical game and we kept focus really well. They were digging in hard because Sunderland are a good team.”

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany on game plan

Sunderland went into the break with Burnley 2-0 ahead. A second-half Manuel Benson masterclass meant the Clarets ultimately ran-out 4-2 winners and Kompany admitted an injury hit Black Cats outclassed his side in the first period.

Kompany said: “In all fairness, Sunderland did fantastic, they had a lot of injuries. They are going through a period where they have had to find solutions to difficult problems and they did ever so well.

“I think whatever the manager said before the game, I think it worked out much better than what we said and what we did. The point is that it was a tough game for us.”