The belief within Sunderland’s squad will fuel a return to winning ways sooner rather than later, according to Sunderland boss Simon Grayson.
Saturday’s trip to Brentford signals the latest opportunity to pick up a second win of the Sky Bet Championship season, with the Black Cats’ only win so far coming back in August at Norwich City.
Injuries have played their part although they have never been used as an excuse, but after seeing the likes of Duncan Watmore and Lewis Grabban back in action, optimism is building at the Academy of Light.
And speaking ahead of the trip to Griffin Park, Grayson stated it’s only a matter of time before the Black Cats’ reap the rewards of their group mentality.
“I genuinely believe that we aren’t a million miles away from getting the results that some of our performances have warranted,” said the Sunderland manager.
“I’ve seen signs on the training pitch and there’s a good vibe amongst the players, and they’re desperate to do well and care about what they’re doing – it isn’t a team that are training with their chins on the ground.”
He continued: “They have a spring in their step and they know what we’re all doing will reap its rewards very soon.
“Brentford are one of the teams in the division that dominate ball and like to have a lot of possession.
“I watched their game against Derby the other day and they had 78% of the play against a strong team, so it’s a tough game but we want to win matches whether we’re at home or away.
“We want to build off the last couple of performances and improve on them to try and get three points.”