Andy Welsh believes grit and determination are vital in Sunderland under-23s’ Premier League 2 opener.
The young Black Cats host Chelsea at Eppleton Colliery Welfare on Sunday 14 August (kick-off 12.05pm) keen to emulate last season’s fine second-place finish.
While Manchester United piped them in the race for the title, Welsh has been left to lick his wounds as he builds a new-look squad full of fresh faces.
With a focus on rebuilding the same endeavour and spirit evident in last season’s title-challenging squad, Welsh has admitted while it’s likely to be a challenging season for his young team, expectations are high.
“We are ready to go again and it’s up to us to try and rediscover some of the form we showed last season,” he said.
“This year we will be a bit of a marked team because of the success we had last year.
“Hopefully we can produce what we know we are capable, we started off last season on a great run and it’s about trying to replicate that.”
He continued: “We want to be positive in our approach, be attack minded but at the same time remember they have good quality in their ranks.
“We have had a fantastic pre-season in terms of the development programme because we’ve had 10 of the under-23s group training and playing with the first-team.
“The feedback has been positive and successful in many ways. Hopefully some of them will come back into our team but again it’s about doing what’s right for their own careers as well.”
General admission for the game is priced at £3 for adults and £1 for over 65s and under 16s while 2016-17 season card holders can gain free entry.
All tickets are sold subject to ground regulations.
