Michael Beale oversaw his first home win as Sunderland head coach on New Year’s Day
As Michael Beale finally gets time to work with his new players on the training field, he has made it clear that strengthening Sunderland’s defensive system is a top priority.
After being named Tony Mowbray’s replacement, Beale was faced with a demanding schedule that included four games in ten days, giving him little time to make any significant changes. Following a disastrous first afternoon in charge against Coventry City, Sunderland bounced back admirably, grabbing seven of nine possible points ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup third-round match against Newcastle United.
The fact that Nazariy Rusyn ended the lengthy wait for a recognized striker to score this season in the 2-0 victory over Preston North End provided even more encouragement. Given his team’s lack of clinical edge thus far this season, Beale’s primary focus is undoubtedly on continuing to integrate the four summer signings in the final third, but his post-match interview with Sky Sports also hinted that he will be paying particular attention to the opposite end of the game.
“There’s loads to come from this group, they’re a young group and there’s so much potential,” he stated.
“You just need to consider how young our three midfield players are and how much potential they have to advance in their careers and help Sunderland win more games.
“Today is not the best version of it [of what we want], as the boys are exhausted from the schedule, but there are certain places where we as a group need to tighten up out of possession. There are some defensive cohesion issues that we need to work on. We have some really excellent ball play, and if our strikers start to score, we will be able to convert the opportunities we create. We actually had the fewest opportunities of the four games today, but we took advantage of them, so that’s a huge step in the right direction for us.”
On Saturday, the much awaited matchup with Newcastle United at the Stadium of Light begins at 12:45 p.m.
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