Tony Mowbray wants to see Sunderland’s players ‘flourish’ after opening win

Tony Mowbray wants to see Sunderland’s players “flourish” under his leadership after watching his tenure start with a comfortable 3-0 win over Rotherham.

The Black Cats inflicted the first defeat of the Championship season on the Millers, much to the delight of Mowbray.

Sunderland’s new manager enjoyed watching Ross Stewart score twice in 13 second-half minutes before Jack Clarke wrapped up the points with a fine individual goal with 20 minutes remaining.

It meant another 36,000-plus crowd could enjoy Mowbray’s first game in charge and he is now hungry for more having been delighted by what he has seen so far.

Mowbray, who only took over on Tuesday, said: “A whirlwind is a good word for it. An opportunity arose and I’m proud to be given an opportunity to manage a club in an environment like this.

“Everyone knows what an amazing club this is. This team has a lot of talent and we have to let it flourish.

“I didn’t do much tonight, it was down to the coaches who have worked with the team for the last few weeks. I talked to the players little bits, told them what I like in games, a lot of credit goes to the coaches working with the team.

“When you come to stadiums like this you get a fanbase and your stomach feels for the fans really, you want your team to score, whizz it across goal, so the fans can have a good night. The team did that tonight and Rotherham hadn’t lost a game either.”

Sunderland signed Abdoullah Ba from Le Havre, while Edouard Michut and Amad Diallo arrived on season-long loans from Paris St Germain and Manchester United, respectively, too. Sunderland could make further additions before Thursday’s deadline.

Rotherham are not expecting to be busy, and manager Paul Warne insists there is no reason to be concerned after losing at Sunderland because of a bright start to life in the Championship.

Warne said: “It wasn’t what I wanted. Firstly, congratulations to Tony, nice to have him back in football.

“It’s difficult when you come and face a team with a new manager, but Sunderland have been playing well anyway. I knew it would be a tough place without a new manager getting the place bouncing.

“The first half we weathered a storm, created a few chances, and on another day we might have nicked a goal.

“Second half they played the game we wanted to play, they had one-on-ones, their attacking players had a good night, with balls in the box we didn’t defend. The scoreline could have been greater. I have no complaints about the result.

“I’m not raging. I know what this league is like. We need to have 11 players at their best. The start has been really good and it’s a positive start, but today was a game too far. There’s no time to feel bad, we have to take it on the chin and move onto the next one.”