BARDO ON DERBY

Phil Bardsley is delighted with our return to the Premier League, and having been in so many derbies before, he is especially looking forward to when we play the mags.

DERBY DAYS ARE BACK

“It’s brilliant Sunderland are back in the Premier League. You only have to look at the massive fan-base, the amazing stadium and now there’s going to be a Tyne-Wear derby again, they don’t come much bigger than those matches. Listen, I’ve played in many of those derbies and lots of other derbies, but there’s nothing quite like the Tyne-Wear derby. They’re the games the all the players and supporters look forward too, to see that game again is going to be very special. It really is an incredible atmosphere and occasion for both clubs.”

GOOD SQUAD BUT NEEDS STRENGTHENED

“When you look at the squad they’ve got a lot of young, promising players. They’ve gone up, so they can add to that youth and recruit well over the summer with some more experienced players to help them in the Premier League. They’ve got players like Luke O’Nien who have been around a while, he’s been a brilliant servant to the club. He’s a player you hang your hat on to give you 7-8 out of ten each week. Players like that are hard to come by in all honesty, they probably don’t get the recognition other players do. He’s been fantastic, but all round they’ve got some really good players and good quality in the squad. They’ve got Wilson Isidor up front as well and he’s got a bit of pace about it. When you’ve got a bit pace about you then you’ve always got a good chance of scoring."

TIME WILL TELL

“They did really struggle towards the end of the season, which is something they’ll have to guard against because they really are a young squad. You are going to run out of a fuel a lot, but they redeemed themselves and produced when it matters. It’s a huge step up the Premier League, so we’ll have to see how they recruit and how they perform.”

Quotes from https://www.sportsboom.com/football