Simon Grayson was content with the second round Carabao Cup draw with Sunderland set to face Carlisle United at Brunton Park.
The tie will take place during the week commencing August 21, with the sides last facing off in a competitive fixture in 2014 when the Black Cats clinched a 3-0 FA Cup win at the Stadium of Light.
And although a relatively short trip comes as a bonus to the team and the fans, the Sunderland boss isn’t expecting an easy game against the League Two outfit.
“Carlisle will be a tough game for us and I know Keith [Curle] well,” said Grayson.
“They’ve got some good players and we’ll go there after a busy schedule so at least we don’t have to travel a long way which is a big plus for us.”
He continued: “The fans can also travel in numbers and we had good support at Bury.
“I’m sure they’ll be at Norwich on Sunday, in Sheffield on Wednesday and then back at home for Leeds next weekend.
“Winning matches breeds confidence and the supporters go home in a happy mood.
“We made four changes from Saturday and we would have liked to have made more, but we wanted to win and we’ve done that.”
