Tony Mowbray on Bristol City clash: 'If we have to grind out a win then we will'

Sunderland boss warns players and fans they may need to be patient again at the Stadium of Light this weekend.

Author:
Michael Graham
Publish date:
Feb 16, 2023 9:50 PM EST

Tony Mowbray is expecting another tough game for Sunderland at the Stadium of Light when Bristol City visit this weekend.

Sunderland have won their last two games in the Championship, and the first of those was a determined 1-0 home win over Reading.

We are seeing Championship clubs coming to the Stadium of Light and deliberately playing defensive football to try and contain the Black Cats’ strong attacking talents, and Mowbray has warned that is a ‘tactic’ he expects to continue.

That may well be the case with Bristol City, despite the Robins arriving on Wearside on the back of a 10-game unbeaten run.

"It is down to us to find the answers to win at home against a team who will make it difficult but we are confident,” Mowbray said.

“If we have to grind it out then we will. Hopefully, we have a really good game against Bristol City, it is a dangerous game and one we have to be mindful of.”

If Bristol City do have any special preparations in mind for Sunderland, they will not have long to work on them given they played on Wednesday.

Robins boss Nigel Pearson also said after their midweek draw against Wigan that he doesn’t necessarily believe in ‘overloading’ his players with special tactical instructions.

"I’m not a big fan of overloading players with information anyway,” Pearson said. “It’s about drip-feeding over a sustained period of time which is probably why we’re a bit of a slow burner in terms of how we improve. I would prefer that which hopefully means it has a more lasting effect.

"If you look at the last ten games where we’re unbeaten, we’ve done okay but actually what we’ve done over the two years, players out and bringing players in and trying to build something, I think we’re in a much better position."

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