Michael Woud has admitted spirits are high ahead of Sunderland under-18s’ trip to Liverpool on Saturday.
The youth team head to Merseyside still chasing their first win of the U18 Premier League following a challenging start to the season.
While promising draws at Everton and Manchester United halted the young Black Cats’ barren run of six straight defeats, a frustrating afternoon last time out saw Elliott Dickman’s side lose 3-0 at home to Blackburn Rovers.
However, with a positive weeks training under the young guns’ belts, New Zealand stopper Woud has revealed the mood in the camp is good despite the loss of skipper Adam Bale through injury.
“We had two very good performances against Everton and Manchester United but we had a bump in the road against Blackburn,” he said.
“Everyone is optimistic because we’ve worked well over the last week and we are now ready for the big game this weekend.
“We know it’s going to be tough but if we play like we have done in the last two away games then we should be in with a chance.”
He continued: “Adam is a big loss because he is the engine of the team in the middle of the park and we will miss him.
“We can’t afford to dwell on that and now we all need to step up as a team and show we can do it without him.”
