Tony Mowbray has explained the conversations he has had with Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, and spoke about striking the balance between youth and experience.
RELAXED
"I didn’t feel as if I needed to get back into football so early. I talked about leaving Blackburn, having a rest, spending time with family, having some holidays and playing football with my kids in the back garden."
PLAN
“But I genuinely feel as if there is a plan from the owners. They are not saying ‘Sunderland have to win the league this year’. They want to grow this club incrementally, they don’t want to spend £100 million this summer. Put talent and quality into your club and let it grow."
EXPERIENCED HEADS
“I talked to them about the senior players. The senior players have to set the standard in the dressing room. Corry Evans and Danny Batth have to lead and they have to be good. They have to set the standard so the kids see how to be a footballer."
YOUTH VS EXPERIENCE
“Whether we're too young at the moment, we’ll have to wait and see. I mentioned Blackburn being the second youngest team in the league behind Barnsley who unfortunately got relegated. This team, there is a lot of talent that we have to let flourish. The senior players have to lead."
EVANS AND BATTH
“Evans is a wonderful reader of the game and is brave and Batth is an old school central defender in the ilk of myself who win headers, competes and has a good voice."
KEEP GROWING
“Let’s see how far we can take it but every transfer window, let's keep trying to grow good players into the club. The ones that come in, by the next window in a few months will be further developed and before you know it, you have got a club full of talent and the phones ringing from Premier League clubs and clubs in Europe for every player."
AFFORDABLE ASSETS
“You’ve got them young and they are not earning money where you can’t afford to keep them so I think that’s the plan."
NEED TO WIN
“To keep the fans happy, you have to win football matches along the way. It’s okay having a plan but you have to win games. I think the owners understand we aren’t going to win every match and we are going to have days where it doesn’t work for us but we have to keep believing, pushing on and going together."
