REGIS CONFIDENT WITH SQUAD

Ever since our busy summer transfer window there has been lots of speculation surrounding the African Cup Of Nations (AFCON) which is due to begin this month. There were some initial worries that we would be without several key players for a few games including our game against the mags but now that it has been confirmed they will be available until after the derby Regis has belief that when the African's do depart the other players can step up and take their chance.

AFCON PLAYERS AVAILABLE FOR MAGS

“Yeah, it’s good news for the team, for this fixture especially and now we have a strong group, touch wood because we don’t have any injuries and the players who haven’t played much before will have opportunities to play and I think they can contribute as well because I think the group is powerful, with different options. So, we’ll see.”

BIG ENOUGH SQUAD TO COPE WITH AFCON

"We’ll see. I trust the quality of this group. So, we started with probably 12-14 main players as starters but the others behind the scenes are working hard and they showed good qualities before, so the dynamic is really positive, still better with a great level of confidence to be part of this squad. I think they can show that they can contribute even for short periods. So, I’m not too concerned."

USING OTHER PLAYERS

"Yeah, we have to manage a different experience, and I still want to see the positive side of the experience and we have a full group, everyone is involved, some of them were a bit frustrated because they hadn’t played now they have the opportunity to experience it at this level, to show their qualities."

NO TARGETS FOR THIS SEASON

"We can be really strong at the minute but maybe in three, four, five weeks we will be totally different. We already have these 22 points in the pocket, but we don’t know the dynamic so we stay consistent, work hard and be ready for anything. I didn’t anticipate something before. We are new in this league with 14 new signings, so everything is new so if you set a limit before I think it is a mistake and try to just experience different situations, give your best and we’ll see. I repeat, so far it was really good, we know that this league is so demanding that if you can’t step up otherwise we’ll be punished really quickly. So, it’s a reset and go again and I think this week will be fun."

MORALE AROUND THE CLUB

"It’s positive, the mood is always connected with the results, even if we built those 22 points players want to win and after Fulham I think we were a bit disappointed and upset because we had the feeling that we were not at our best. Fulham played a good game, but it wasn’t the best version of Sunderland. I think we reacted well, especially after these two goals and showed a good quality so now it’s a question of consistency. So we're the same, you can enjoy 24 hours and then go again because the next challenge will be tough. So, the mood is very positive but at the same time we know that if we don’t give the best version of ourselves we’ll get punished."

COMPARING US TO OTHER PROMOTED SIDES

"We don’t know what happens inside, but we want to be brave and accepting the risk to be punished, it’s possible. At least you want to play your football, you want to press high, if not it’s possible we’ll use a deep block, mid deep block, be consistent and if it’s possible even under pressure let’s try. After that I think we can grow through different experiences. Sometimes we make two mistakes for example, but these two mistakes are really important to grow, to learn and to get better after, if you accept these mistakes are part of the process. So far, we have worked like that and its positive, so well see for the future. It's important to use our steps during the game, to keep this level of organisation and intensity. We’ll see for the third game in a week if we need to change this round."