Head Coach Alex Neil has billed Wednesday’s trip to Sheffield United as his side’s toughest Sky Bet Championship hurdle to date.
Neil discussed the strength of the team’s upcoming opponents at Bramall Lane, who currently sit a point and four places below Sunderland at this early stage in the season.
“This will be our biggest test so far, without a doubt,” he said.
“They’re in a position different to us in terms of their recent drop from the Premier League, their parachute payments and the fact they reached the Play-Off semi-finals last year. They’re a very good team – you look at Sander Berge, John Fleck, Oliver Norwood – that midfield finished ninth in the Premier League.
“They have a lot of strength all over the pitch and plenty of depth as well, so we know it’s going to be a tough game – we know we have to be at our best.”
Neil also evaluated the early success of the attacking duo of Ross Stewart and Ellis Simms, who between them have scored five of the Lads’ six league goals since the start of the campaign.
The Head Coach insisted that there are no ‘favourites’ among his squad, and stated there is no escaping the fact that the battle is harder for players to break into the starting XI when a particular shape or partnership is performing well.
“You can’t argue with the output the two lads have given us up top. Five goals in two games – and they’ve played two or three games in their Championship careers.
“They have to continue to play well to merit a system where we play two up front – there are of course lads not getting game time at the moment due to the great form of the two.
“As I’ve said before, I don’t base my shape around what I want to do – it’s about how the players can perform and how I see us winning games. The shape we’ve been playing hasn’t been one I’ve utilised very often, but it’s proving effective. Providing we’re doing well and getting results, the players know they have to fight to get in the team.”