Here's every word from Michael Beale's Sunderland pre-match press conference ahead of the clash with Plymouth Argyle.
Michael, is there an update on Dan Ballard?
He’ll train tomorrow and if there are no issues then he’ll be available.
Are there any other issues?
No, Elliot Embleton will play in the B-team tomorrow night for 45 minutes, so it’s good to see Elliot back and then after that he’ll be available for selection, which is really positive. Paddy has had a few more days into him and Romaine as well. Callum Styles is back out jogging and he’ll probably join the group in the middle of next week if all goes according to plan.
With Elliot it will be like having a new signing available to you, won’t it?
Yeah, it will. I think we’ve got to respect the fact he’s missed a lot of football as well and give him a chance, so let’s see how tomorrow night goes. It’s one thing training with the group, it’s another being on a big pitch again and your lungs opening out and burning a little bit. They’re all the things that Elliot has got to go through. But in terms of the training, I’ve a seen a player that can really add something to the team. He’s a local boy as well and knows what it means to play for our team. The last few months have been really frustrating for him. It was important that he stayed here, there’s not a lot of the season to go and the most important thing is that Elliot stays fit now and then can get some rhythm back into his football. We know the technical ability he can bring to his group.
Where is he at mentally?
He’s in a good place right now and we want to keep him in a good place and that means keeping him here with the staff that know him and the medical staff who know him, that’s really important to help him stay fit and go on a run. It’s a difficult life for any football player who’s not able to play and Elliot wants to make up for lost time.
Another player who has been a miss is Corry Evans, how far away is he?
He’s still a little way off at the moment. When you’ve had the injury that he’s had there’s always going to be small complications and there’ll be little niggles in different areas, so he’s a little bit behind Elliot.
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Has he been a big miss?
Mentors in the changing room, when it’s such a young group, is something you can add. Don’t get me wrong, a young group does have no fear and is vibrant and lively but one or two mentors in the changing room are important. It’s hard to be that if you’re not playing. You can do that around the training ground but it’s hard to do that on a matchday, so we’ve certainly missed that – you don’t play as many games as an international and be club captain if you don’t have something about you. We can’t replace what we don’t have with him, but I’d say somebody like Luke O’Nien has really stepped up in that period as well and has been a bit of a leader in the dressing room. But when Corry is ready to come back it will be a real asset.
There’s a busy period coming up, is it important now you’ve got players in and coming back?
We had 18 outfield fit players today, so that’s the squad at the weekend, isn’t it? That’s how tight we are on the group. Caden Kelly came into the group last week because he’d been doing particularly well in the B-team – there’s other players who are itching to come up for an opportunity as well. We have got three games in the next week but so has everybody else, so it’s not like we’re playing teams who are fresh – everybody has got it. It’s an exciting time for our young squad.
There’s a big opportunity for us. Let’s just take them one game at a time. But if I’m someone who is not in the starting line-up, I need to be pushing the guys who are. Having Paddy back, and Romaine, it gives us a little bit more in the final third as well. Mason and Nazariy have scored in the last couple of games, Semedo scored for the B-team in the week and Adil got an assist so, in that sense, the people are pushing each other.
Is Nazariy Rusyn now at the front of your mind to feature in attack?
He is right in my thoughts to play across the front three. I think he’s a bit of a hybrid, he’s not just a No.9. I think it would be unfair of me to say that Naz is just a No.9 because he likes to pull wide, he likes to dribble and his movement and energy down the side is really good and in these next three games we’re certainly going to see him playing.
Plymouth, I'm sure you were elated when it went to extra-time?
Yeah, I think so. A new manager has gone in, I think they did really well they're a dangerous team. They score a lot of goals at home. I thought in the two games against Leeds United, if you look at the two 90 minutes they did well over that. The game slipped away from them for one way or another. I think it'll be a tough challenge where everyone is playing for something.
The Championship is one of those leagues where you get caught at one end of the table or another. There's always a reason, I think we're going to have be at our best again. Certainly if Plymouth come after us, we're going to have more space but we're mindful they might not do that, they might sit in and that'll give us different problems because their front three, I know a couple of them really well and they'll be dangerous if we leave space. It's another really good game.
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Are you mindful of teams sitting in? It's been a problem for Sunderland, not just this season but last season as well at home.
I think the best teams in the world, that spend millions and millions find it difficult. It's the hardest thing for the ten players close to their goal. Eight or nine players back, it's hard to get through. What we've shown as a team is that we can go over, round and through teams. Certainly against Stoke when we had bigger space, you could see how dangerous we were. It's important when the other team attack that we take it off them and launch our counter attacks quickly as well. If we solve that, there isn't a lot for us to solve is there? It's something all good teams face, if you're a possession team against a team that's sat in.
I feel we have the right players in the building, with Paddy back, Abdoullah in good form, Pat and Romaine in wide areas, we have people that can outplay one vs one. There's certainly been a focus on us crossing the ball more, now we need to get more people in there because my big frustration, and the team's big frustration in the changing room at the weekend was we got into really good areas against Middlesbrough. From those areas, did we have enough making the box? Or did we have enough looking to get where you score goals? Which is inside the six-yard box because there's a couple of moments where the ball gets flashed across and we should score in those moments. That's something we're working on but that's something the best teams in the world find that difficult so it's not a problem just for Sunderland.
Do you get the feeling you've a bench where you can change things? There's always accusations thrown at coaches they've got no 'Plan B'. Do you have that?
That's a new accusation! No, listen, I think the bench has to bring variety to the team on the pitch doesn't it? I think sometimes there's a balance between trusting the players that you've picked in the starting line-up, certainly if you're a forward player. If you're a forward player and you're thinking 'after 60 minutes he's going to take me off,' yes, you have to play well to stay on, but there's an element of coach-player trust and relationship.
If you trust someone, to play, you have to get that balance right, but certainly from the bench you need variation and I think we're getting to the stage now, which I've not had for too many of the games where there's more variation, with Romaine coming in, Paddy getting fit again, Mason has now scored, Adil has got an assist, Semedo has scored. They're telling me in the B Team game 'Come on, play me. I'm here.' Riggy being around the group, certainly now, we feel like we've got more to offer with Callum coming back into it next week. That's a real positive place. If you think of the performances Jenson has put in he's probably been hard done by last week. But I thought Leo came in and played particularly well. Hopefully that's a real sign for the group and the team in the coming weeks.
You mentioned Jenson there, a little hard done bye there playing well at Stoke but out of the team after?
I think balance is really important to any team. You posed me the question there, what if teams come and sit in, well balance is really important. That you can go round and hit crosses. I thought he helped us and played well for a number of games but it's fair to say Trai is a better right-back, only by ten per cent, but certainly a better right-back than left-back, in my opinion. There's going to be a couple of suspensions in the post with centre-backs and it's important that Jenson will get an opportunity in there and show us what he can do. I've been delighted with him to be honest. I was delighted with Leo last week so that's a good place for us to be in.]
All the positives you mentioned, beating Stoke, a good point at Boro, do you feel things have settled down for you as well?
I've always been really pleased with the players in terms of work. I think this is a big week and we have to stay really focussed. I think when you're going into last weeks game with three out of the four away from home, you go into Middlesbrough last week positive about the performance, but there were some areas you'd like to improve. That was clear for everyone to see. It was a good point but how good a point we'll determine at the end of the season. We have a really good home game this weekend, then two away games again so I don't think there's any time for us to breathe or feel settled. These next three performances, the look on my face will probably tell a million things.
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Patrick Roberts, does that give teams more to think about in terms of it's not just Jack Clarke on one flank? Obviously Abdoullah has played well, but just having Paddy there gives teams more to think about?
I think so yeah. I think we know what Paddy can do. He can eliminate the first player. What we've got to do after that is make sure, the same with Jack as well, once we outplay the first defender that we get the rewards of it, whether that be a shot or more people in the box. I think Abdoullah as well, his favoured position would be slightly inside the pitch which gives us an option to play all three. Romaine, I thought he had an excellent 60 minutes for the B Team in the week and he's trained really well the last two days. Romaine is right in the front of my thoughts as well. We've got good variety which is fantastic.
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