Tony Mowbray wants teams to fear Sunderland after another strong away display

Posted Saturday, September 30, 2023 by PA

Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray said he wants Sky Bet Championship teams to feel his side’s attacking threat after they beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 at Hillsborough to move up to fourth in the table.

A Dan Ballard header and two goals from Jack Clarke, the second a penalty, ensured the Black Cats’ victory in a little more than half an hour.

Mowbray said: “We needed to start fast, we were mindful of our last away game at Blackburn. Tonight we started fast and gave ourselves a great platform to go on.

“To get three goals before half-time was great. The only thing, and I said it in the dressing room, I was a little disappointed we didn’t go on and score more.

“They are a young group of lads and they have to learn. I can’t really complain; to come away and score three goals is good.

“But you always feel in this stadium that one goal goes in and you never know, so we talked about not giving them chances and it wasn’t until the last few minutes that they had any.

“If anything, we had to let them feel our threat more in the second half and be more clinical; score some more goals. I want every team to fear us and sit players behind the ball as a result.

“We were happy to keep the ball but moving forward, I would like other teams in this league to feel our threat – that if they get it wrong we are going to score.

“Of course, it’s about winning but the bigger picture is I want us to be an even better team and when teams aren’t quite right, we can really damage them.

“But it’s another three goals away from home for the third time on the bounce, so we just have to keep rolling.”

Wednesday boss Xisco Munoz apologised to supporters, with his side making the joint-worst start after nine games in Championship history.

Munoz said: “We started so badly and everyone is disappointed. This is the level we are at and after the second goal the game was done. In the second half we had some better moments but not enough.

“In the first half an hour we have three shots and they have three shots but they score the goals. We need to change the dynamic and be better in the final third.

“We changed systems and we changed players. We continued to try to find solutions and we tried to take risks after the second goal but it’s very hard to react the way we want to.

“We need to try to change a lot of things and my way is to try to find solutions. To get results you need to earn them but it was impossible after the first half.

“The results are very poor, that’s clear. But if you ask me if we have improved since I arrived, then yes. It’s not easy and we need to manage the pressure.”

Wednesday are in disarray off the field, with chairman Dejphon Chansiri releasing a statement earlier in the day stating he would be putting no additional money into the club.

Munoz added: “I can’t speak about the chairman; my job is the football side of things and the focus is on the players.

“To the fans, I’m so sorry. I’ve been under pressure since the first day. It’s a big challenge but I will continue to fight every day.”