Dan Neil was satisfied with Sunderland’s 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest in their first pre-season friendly of the warm weather training camp in Spain but believes there are still some ‘tweaks’ to be made when it comes to fulfilling new head coach Régis Le Bris’ tactics.

Neil featured for 70 minutes in the blistering heat at the Pinatar Arena in Murcia as Sunderland’s Spanish training camp continued on Friday evening against Premier League opposition in Nottingham Forest.

Sunderland took the lead before half-time through Jack Clarke’s penalty before Omar Richards levelled early in the second half.

Le Bris started a strong XI and was able to enjoy a thorough examination of his players before several changes in the final quarter of the game.

Sunderland’s draw with Forest adds to the win over South Shields and the defeat at Gateshead with Le Bris’ side set to face Spanish Segunda outfit CD Eldense at the Pinatar Arena on Sunday before retuning home to continue their preparations.

And Neil, who has featured twice this pre-season in a deep-lying midfield role, is pleased with the work being done under the new head coach while highlighting the benefits of the warm weather pre-season camp.

“It was a good game. We were playing against good Premier League opposition, which I think is what we needed at this stage of pre-season,” said Neil.

“The friendlies last week were good and we’ve stepped up this week. It was a good run out – we got what we needed in terms of fitness. There are still little things we can tweak in terms of the tactical side but, all in all, it was a good run out.

“It was really, really hot. It was tough. But that’s why you come out here. You come to train and play in these types of conditions.

“It’s a little bit of a slog sometimes, but you’ll feel a lot better for it next week when we get back to England and into more pre-season games and more training and when the start of the season gets closer you’ll be grateful for training in these conditions because you’ll be ready.”

Neil added: “We’ve been working really hard on it [tactics]. The gaffer has got a way of playing that he wants us to play, no matter who it’s against, and we’re trying to implement it every single day, whether that’s in possession or out of possession and that was a good way to test it against a really good opposition.

“It’s going to stand us in good stead going into the rest of pre-season and the start of the season.”

 

READ MORE: Sunderland 1-1 Nottingham Forest: What did we learn from Sunderland's opening friendly in Spain

 

Neil has overcome an ankle injury at the end of last season to be fit for the start of pre-season, but while continuing to build his match sharpness will be key the midfielder has also highlighted the benefit of pre-season trips providing an opportunity for players to bond.

Neil has established himself as a regular in Sunderland’s midfield since returning to the Championship and he could well find himself alongside a new partner at times this season after the arrival of Alan Browne – who has yet to feature in pre-season – with Neil revealing the Irishman has settled into the squad well since joining from Preston North End earlier this month.

“That’s a massive part of these trips,” said Neil. “First and foremost it’s the training and the working hard and getting used to what the manager wants us to do. But when you come away from home you’re with the lads all day, every day and you get to know them.

“Browney has just come in, and we’ve gotten to know Browney really well and the lads have all bonded.

“We’ve got two days left out here, we’ve got a game on Sunday. We’ll work hard and try and get another good result because the results are important as well as the fitness because you want to build some momentum going into the season so hopefully, we can finish this trip well.”