Elliott Dickman praised the work ethic displayed by his players during a narrow defeat to Arsenal on Monday evening.
The under-23s hassled and harried against an experienced Gunners outfit, but they were undone three minutes after the break as Vlad Dragomir shattered the deadlock.
Sunderland continued to toil with Josh Maja leading the line until the hour mark on his return, but there was no way back and Chuba Akpom completed the scoring late on.
There were no complaints from Dickman post-match, though, with the under-23 boss praising the effort on show while challenging the Black Cats to improve in the final third.
“The commitment the lads showed was fantastic and I was really pleased with the effort they put in, but, ultimately, the difference was a little bit of quality in the final third.
“They scored two good goals and took their chances whereas we had one really good chance we didn’t take, but like I said their effort and commitment was really good and because of that I think it’s a shame we lost the game.”
He continued: “It’s about managing key areas. The first goal was straight after half-time and the lads have got to learn from that, but hopefully we’ll be better on Friday at Everton.
“I’ve said it about Duncan and Paddy, but the medical staff have managed the return of Josh really well as well.
“He looked a little rusty but that’s understandable and it was good for him to get 60 minutes under his belt, so hopefully he can build on that but there’s no rush.
“Between now and Friday the first-team staff will look after him and hopefully he’ll be raring to go this weekend, whether it’s with us or the first team.”