Ahead of the first game of the season against Coventry on Sunday Dan Neil sat down and expressed his desire to link up with Nathan Broadhead again after last season’s success. Aside from that he explained the pressure of playing for a big club like Sunderland.
ROBERTS AND CLARKE
"Obviously they came in during January and by the end of the season they were quite big personalities in the dressing room - a bit like the core of the dressing room."
STRENGTHENING
"Pat has a lot of experience from his career, Danny Batth, people like that. I think it was important to get that core group of players together that got us promoted. A few additions on the side with Dan [Ballard] and Aji [Alese]."
SETTLING IN
"Really well. Obviously Dan [Ballard] has been here for a bit longer now so he's a lot more settled. Aji [Alese] looks like he's enjoying it and he's been getting minutes in pre-season and is looking good. They've been looking good and settling in."
BROADHEAD RETURN
"I mean, personally, I hope so. I haven't spoken to him in a while. I don't know, we'll see what happens and see if he wants to come back or not."
LEARNING AN'S TACTICS
"It's been good. It was tough for the gaffer when he first came in because he came into a squad that was low on confidence and he had to get us going straight away. There was no chance to develop players or get his way of going about things [across]. He had to find a solution to get us promoted but now, he's had a pre-season where he's been able to implement his own ideas and bring in the players that he wants to bring in. I think everyone has benefitted from it. Everyone is looking good, everyone is looking sharp. We're looking forward to Sunday."
PLAYING ON SUNDAY
"It would be unbelievable. Like I said the goal was always to get back to the Championship, so to then play for Sunderland in the Championship it would be a dream. We'll see what happens, it's another hard working week and we'll see what happens on Sunday."
EASED PRESSURE?
"Yes and no. Yes, because we've just come up from League One."
EXPECTATIONS
"I know that some fans think that staying up would just be enough, but then I know there's a lot of fans that will expect a little bit more than that. When you play for a big club like Sunderland, there's always pressure. Whether you're in League One, Championship of Premier League. I think that's the best thing about it, what's the point if there's no pressure? That's what makes the wins unbelievable and the losses unbearable. That's just Sunderland and what you have to deal with if you want to play for a club this size."
