Four Championship games in ten days and an FA Cup Clash against Newcastle United to top it off. It's been somewhat of a baptism of fire for Michael Beale since arriving at the Stadium of Light but there's no need for the firefighters to be called in. Far from it.
Despite a disappointing defeat to Coventry City on his first game in charge, Beale's side have taken seven points from their following three Championship fixtures, with two clean sheets to boot and are just inside the coveted top-six.
The Wear-Tyne Derby defeat can be put firmly in the past with Sunderland's focus back on domestic action and this weekend's clash with Ipswich Town presents the young Black Cats with an opportunity to put their flag in the sand.
Wins over play-off rivals West Brom and Leeds United were two impressive scalps last month and another three points at Portman Road would only reaffirm their promotion credentials ahead of a difficult run of games against Hull City, Stoke City and Middlesbrough.
"This week has been the most mellow week," Beale told We Are Sunderland. "Obviously the four games without much training, the festive period and New Year. Then the huge game last weekend took the attention.
"Coming back into the office on Monday, we've managed to get some really good training into the team, a lot of talking with the players, I've managed to get round the whole group now and have a one-to-one with everyone in the squad. That's nearly 27 or 28 players.
"I feel more comfortable in the club naturally because I came in on my own. There was a lot of faces and names to get to know. I'm really optimistic about the next 20 games.
"We've only got the Championship to focus on. We're playing one game a week now, which for a squad like ours, really benefits us."
Beale has had very little time to coach on the grass - an area of which he says is his biggest strength - which suggests the best is still to come from this young Sunderland side in the second-half of the season.
To date, 12 wins, four draws and ten defeats epitomises the inconsistency of this young group, but as time passes, the new head coach will have a better understanding of the talent at his disposal.
Highly regarding in the coaching set-up across the UK, Beale has spent time in elite academies, helping nurture the best talents in the game, Trent Alexander-Arnold to name just one of those to break into the Premier League having been coached by the now Sunderland boss.
A scholar of the game, after his sacking at Rangers, Beale spent time in Brazil, France and Belgium honing his craft. A post on his LinkedIn profile offering a brilliant insight into his reaction to disappointment.
"Football gives me so much enjoyment in the simplistic form of visiting a new city or stadium and then leaning into the culture of each club and how this shapes the ideas on how they play football, the different coaches and players etc," Beale shared a month ago. "Travelling to the game and seeing the passion of each set of fans, it’s what I remember about going to football as a child with my dad."
The simplicity and beauty of the game isn't lost on the Sunderland head coach, but he's also well aware of what it takes to reach the elite level.
"It's finding out where they want to go on their journey," Beale said, when asked about his early conversations with Sunderland players and how he can fulfil the potential of this plethora of talent. "Where they're at, at this moment in time. How we can make the training bespoke to them? That's what we're good at here.
"How do they fit in terms of how I see this team playing? I think for any young player, he wants to know if he's going to play and he wants to know and have clarity in his role in the squad. A good starting point is would your teammates pick you? That starts every day at 11 o'clock in terms of the way you train.
"It's a young group, so I think the adults in the building have to set strong standards and discipline around them to allow them to flourish. As I say, if you look at the group and the results that they've had in the last 12 or 18 months in this division, we've done extremely well. But now, we need to get serious about making the next step.
"Any of the little percentage gains that I can add with my opinions, but there was a lot of good work going on. I've not worked with any of these players before. A lot of them will have colleagues, players of friends that have worked with me. Football does that sort of thing.
"It's nice to sit in a room with a Dan Neil, to understand him. He's completely different to Pierre [Ekwah], who's completely different to Jobe [Bellingham]. That's your midfield and a young one.
"It's fascinating. We're really privileged in this game to spend time with these talented young players. Never overlook that and it's great to work with them everyday.
"When you come in to work, firstly our facilities are great and we work for a great football club but you come in to work with really ambitious football players and that's what me and my staff love."
The Black Cats head coach, like those before him, knew what he was signing up for when he took on the role at the club. A phoenix rising from the ashes of years of overspending, intent on doing things differently, but by being successful in doing so.
There remains scope for improvement and Sunderland will invest again in the January transfer window to help Beale take his squad to the next level, having taken on board the opinions of staff and players in his first few weeks on Wearside.
"I've had opinions from 360 degrees since I've come in," Beale said. "Obviously you get the opinion of the team from the fans, the staff. There was one person coming in so you get that.
"You then sit and speak with the players and see where they think we can improve. They go and play ultimately. A lot of the health of a football team is when the coach is not there.
"How that team acts and behaves in the changing room and the locker room, when they're managing each other. It's a young group, it's an interesting group in terms of the diversity of the group. Where the players have come from, it's a really exciting group for the staff and me to work with.
"We want to support them. We've got a real common cause as a group about where we want to go and we're not going to shout it outside, but we are turning the dial up inside to ensure that we're moving forward."
Sunderland's decision to sign younger players and develop them in order to reach the promised land of the Premier League, or selling those talents in order to do so, remains at the very beginning of that process. It's worth reminding that the Black Cats are not a selling club, with Ross Stewart the only big name departure sold under the new regime.
However, it's not lost that the club haven't yet replaced his goals up front. Alarming, yet part of the process. Signing four strikers in the summer showed a clear succession plan, albeit all four are yet to hit a purple patch.
Beale said: "In terms of the model, a lot is spoken about that. We're just trying to bring in players that are on the up rather than players that are on the decline.
"Players that can add to the vision and journey that we're on. We have obviously gone and recruited young players but in Bradley Dack, Luke O'Nien and Alex Pritchard we have players at the back end of their twenties as well.
"We're just looking for players to come in with the enthusiasm to move forward. We don't want anyone coming here because it's a nice club and a big club to play for and we pack out the stadium. We want people on a mission to improve themselves.
"So, the youngers boys that are in the group, 23 or 24, we're trying to bring their voices into the team. It's important. Dan Ballard, when Jonny Evans hasn't been playing, he's been given the armband by Michael O'Neill, that shows you what he thinks of him and what we think of him here.
"He can develop his leadership skills as well. It's important we do that and that we find the right players. If we can in this window, everyone through from Kyril, to Kristjaan and myself is looking to do that."
The play-off finish last season showed exactly what this group of players can do, albeit with a sprinkling of magic from the likes of Amad Diallo. Jack Clarke has stepped up to fill that void on the left-hand side, but it's important not to lose sight of the long-term goal.
Of course, promotion to the Premier League remains the main objective for Beale and his coaching staff this season, but the development of young players must work in tandem with getting results on the pitch.
What Sunderland have done well since the arrival of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman, is unearth a hidden gem - Trai Hume one of those who's impressed since promotion to the Championship. However, not every talent will fulfil it's potential, a look at Isaac Lihadji last season is a prominent reminder that not every player will adapt to English football.
The language barrier remains an issue for Sunderland in the short-term, as pointed out by Tony Mowbray before his departure. With development still high up on the Wearsiders' priority list, loan moves away from the club are a viable option to help youngsters develop.
However, therein lies an opportunity cost. For example, do they send the likes of Jewison Bennette to a Spanish speaking nation where he'll be able to play football at a decent standard, but his English takes a back seat. Beale kept his cards close to his chest when it came to revealing which youngsters may leave the club in January and that any outgoings would be dependent on incomings.
Interestingly, the Sunderland boss has spoken at length about the importance of communication and being bilingual in his profession, which could stand the Black Cats in good stead in the months to come. The likes of Bennette, Eliezer Mayenda and Luis Hemir Semedo will benefit from Beale's ability to speak both Spanish and Portuguese - another feather in the cap for the new head coach.
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"There's been one or two conversations but I'm not willing to give any names here," he said when asked about potential departures. "I think as the month goes on, depending on who comes in, it may open the door for one or two to go out.
"We've got one or two that haven't played as much as they'd like or have had injuries that might need some gametime just to get some oxygen between now and the end of the season. Ultimately the players, albeit they love training, they want to play games.
"We'll assess as the month goes on, depending on who comes in, until someone comes in we want to hold on to the ones we've got. The period that I've been in, we've lost Niall Huggins in the very first game.
"Dennis hasn't played and is not going to play until the back end of the season, and we've lost Bradley and Pat. We've lost four players who I think would have an impact on the team."
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