Tony Mowbray has discussed the balancing act that comes with having four inexperienced strikers in the squad after Saturday's win against Birmingham City.
DEVELOP THEM
"I don't think I've ever said that they're not good players - they're just not necessarily ready. They are good players. That's what this club does, it brings in young footballers and expect us to polish them up and give them some confidence and allow them to play and give them some minutes on the pitch."
STRIKERS NEED TO SCORE
"As a striker, though, you are right in the spotlight because you need to score. If you score, you're the hero; if you don't score then another game has gone by and it becomes a story."
EXCITING PLAYERS
"We like all the strikers. We've talked about Mayenda, he is an exciting young prospect. I thought Mason came on [against Birmingham] and, while he played a little bit wide, he had a couple of amazing chances and worked his socks off for the team. We're excited by these players but my call, ultimately, is whether I think they are ready to start in front of this player or that player and, if the answer is no ... because we are trying to win football matches."
TRYING TO WIN
"We've had 40,000 supporters here yesterday and they come to hopefully see Sunderland win, not to see Sunderland give a load of young guys debuts. It's a fine balance and that's what I am trying to get right - although sometimes I probably get it wrong!"
GOOD AND BAD ON SATURDAY
"The team epitomised a young team today, we were so dominant for 30 minutes. We could have been three, four up but then it got slack, losing it in midfield, silly passes and letting them break. It's a trait of young footballers I think, thinking it's easy."
HALF TIME TEAM TALK
"I tried to highlight that at half time, you're all top players but top teams do it for 90 minutes, not 30 minutes and then be a liability - giving it away and not recovering quick enough. It's great that we can have a lesson like today while still getting a win and three points."
