Assistant manager James Fowler is settling into life well at the Academy of Light and has shared his excitement over the task in hand.
The 37-year-old, who has reunited his connection with manager Jack Ross after a successful spell with St Mirren, has admitted the draw of Sunderland was too much to turn down – and that’s a must-have trait for any incoming players this summer also.
After helping Ross guide the Buddies to the Scottish Championship title last term, Fowler is keen to turn Sunderland’s fortunes around as quickly as possible and experience more success south of the border.
Speaking to safc.com, the assistant manager has shared his excitement about the season ahead and has provided an insight into how the duo work together.
“The success we had at St Mirren over the 18-20 months we were there – from the relegation we avoided to the promotion we had last season – we felt we had built up a successful partnership as coaching pair,” he said.
“I really enjoy working with the manager, I learn an awful lot from him every day, so when a club like Sunderland comes calling there isn’t too much to think about.
“He has his way of doing things on the training pitch. I like to support him and help him with whatever he needs.
“We both take training, but he is very much a hands-on coach. I will be supporting him with that and then in preparation for matches we will split the squad into the attackers and defenders and we will do different bits and pieces.”
“Together we want the same things,” he continued. “We want to create a successful team here. We know where we are, and we want to get away from it as quickly as possible.
“It won’t be easy, but it is a challenge we are excited and ready for. Obviously that all starts now with our recruitment of players – we want players who are keen to play for this club and the fans.
“There has got to be that interaction with the fans going forward. The area of Sunderland is very much like Scotland, there’s a demand for a work ethic and the thing they ask for first and foremost is to see players sweating for the jersey.
“We need to recruit the right types, so we have players coming here who are proud to play for Sunderland.”