Elliott Dickman has praised the work of his backroom staff in getting his players recuperated for today’s test at Everton, KO 2pm.
On Monday, Sunderland under-23s endured a 600-mile round trip to Arsenal and didn’t return until the early hours of Tuesday morning.
But with a trip to Merseyside on the cards for the young Black Cats today, Dickman’s side have had little time to recuperate as attentions have swiftly switched to trying to defeat last season’s Premier League 2 champions Everton.
Speaking to safc.com, the development team boss reserved a special mention for the work his backroom staff have put in over the last few days, admitting their extensive work gives his team the foundations to put on a strong performance in at Finch Farm.
“We had a tough game on Monday night and then we travelled back straight after the game,” he said.
“We didn’t get back here till the very early hours of Tuesday morning.
“We have recovered well and prepared as best as we can.
“They were the winners of the league last season and they have got some good players but you never know what might happen.
“If we show the same sort of attitude and commitment we had on Monday then you never know what could happen.
“Scott Ainsley and the medical team have done well with the lads and looked after the lads the last couple of days.
“The lads looked quite sharp in training and that tells me the work that has been done is the right thing,” he continued.
“Hopefully they will take that energy into the match and pair that with the off the ball work that’s required.”