Andy Welsh is primed for another away day and has called on his players to relish in the quick turnaround of fixtures.
Sunderland under-23s take on Southampton at Staplewood Training Ground today, kick-off 12pm, on the back of a gruelling trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Checkatrade Trophy on Monday evening.
While the start of the week saw the young Black Cats exit the Football League competition on penalties, Welsh has wasted no time in turning his attentions back to their Premier League 2 campaign.
Currently fifth, victory over the Saints would see Sunderland reduce the gap on third place Liverpool to a point, and Welsh has urged his team to dust themselves down from Monday’s disappointment and relish as the fixtures come thick and fast.
“We are looking forward to it and we know we played very well back in August against them,” he said.
“I’m expecting a tough test and it’s going to be a long trip from our point of view.
“We have had two road trips this week with Wolves on Monday night and then another long one down to the south coast but we have prepared well and the lads are ready to go again.
“It does have an effect on the players because it was an intense game the other night in the Checkatrade Trophy.
“We have trained accordingly though and we have recovered from that match but it is still two long trips,” he continued.
“For development purposes it’s important the boys get used to it because they will have to do this in their careers no matter where they play at.
“It’s only part of their development but the lads have got to be able to cope with it and provide some consistency to show they can deal with it.”
