So, we are close to a takeover from an American based firm in the computer industry. This has been going on for a while now, but with representatives at the game yesterday the deal is now close to completion and the story has broken. Stewart Donald said: "We are close. And this is really simple and it's one of the biggest tests of Charlie and my ownership and stewardship of the club - is the deal that we do. We've got a preferred partner, someone that we think can really do what we've talked about doing and come with us to take the club to the next level. I hope that we can get that deal over the line because I think it's a hugely exciting deal for all the right reasons. I’m hopeful we can get something over the line relatively quickly.”
We are also expected to sign a left back and a centre half before the transfer window closes. Hopefully the centre half is called Mr Brick Shithouse cos we’ve needed such a player for some time now.
Jack Ross was delighted with the win against Pompey on Saturday, even though he was trying to play it cool. Ross said: “For me it was just three points in the quest to achieve promotions. It’s just three games into the season. I have said often enough about the pressure and expectancy on us to win every game, so the build-up was no different for me. It [the pressure] is omnipresent - it never goes away. Whether you have won five games in a row or lost five games in a row, it never really changes. In terms of how you use it, you have to make peace with it first and foremost. As a football manager, you are always going to have pressure. But if you don’t want to feel big pressure, don’t manage a big club - but then you don’t get the rewards of managing a big club, leading a team in this stadium in front of these supporters. You can’t have one without the other. When I reflect on the start to the season, it has been solid. We would have liked it to be better but we have had some tough games - Oxford are a good side and will be, in my opinion, top part of the table, then Ipswich away and Portsmouth at home. We knew that, on paper, it was a tough start and the vultures probably thought it would be a tough start, and it has proven to be the case. But we have come out of it reasonable well.”
“But we’ve won a ridiculously big number of points from losing positions over the last 13 months and we can’t keep doing that, we know that, but we also know that we do have that character and resilience in the squad. We didn’t start the game well. We have had occasions here where we have conceded on the back of starting games well and that has been frustrating, but today we didn’t start well - we were a little bit tentative, a bit anxious, in all aspects of our play. I think the goal released the shackles to an extent, and we started to do the things we had spoken about and we had a period in the first half where we scored the two goals, we continued that in the second half, until naturally we came under a bit of pressure late in the game. I’m delighted for the players that they have got that feeling of having won an important league game, because it was a big game, Portsmouth are a good side, and we had to work hard for the win.”
Ross also gave an update on Marc McNulty's hamstring injury, after the Scot was withdrawn during the second half against Portsmouth: “It is a hamstring injury. I don’t think it is overly serious, but we have a quick turnaround given the crazy nature of the fixture schedule so early in the season. So, we will just see how he is. It is probably unlikely it will settle down in time for Tuesday, but we’ll see how he is tomorrow morning.”
In other news Aiden McGeady has admitted that he considered leaving Sunderland after our relegation to the third tier. “Let’s face it, it’s not nice having that on your CV but I was part of the team that got Sunderland into this situation. When we went down, I guess a lot of people thought I wouldn’t fancy League One and couldn’t wait to leave. I was actually in to minds and had Chris Coleman stayed, I’d have gone but I sat down with Jack Ross and he sold his vision to me. The fact he was Scottish and I’d played against him probably helped but at the end of the day, I was one of those who got Sunderland into this mess so I want to do my bit to get us out of it.”
