Elliott Dickman reserved special praise for Sunderland’s under-23s in the wake of their 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers.
The club’s development side provided an emphatic response to defeat at Burnley on Monday, with Josh Maja scoring the only goal of the game to ensure they ended the Premier League Cup group stages top of the pile.
After conceding five goals in an eight-goal thriller against the Clarets, Dickman urged his side to respond and they did just that, with stopper James Talbot scarcely tested by Rovers.
And speaking post-match, the under-23 boss hailed the desire and grit displayed by the Black Cats.
“The pleasing thing was that we had a response from Monday,” said Dickman.
“Against Blackburn we weren’t good without the ball, but today I thought we did well and we had a real appetite to defend, press the ball and stick together.”
He continued: “James Talbot didn’t have much to do and that’s credit to the lads in front of him.
“I thought we played some good football as well, and even though it was only 1-0 I thought we could have scored more.
“It wasn’t a defensive performance and I thought we tried to play and score goals, but like said the pleasing thing was the appetite to win the ball back when we didn’t have it.
“I thought the lads were smashing today.”