“Some club’s I’ve managed…” – Tony Mowbray reveals Sunderland owner’s expectations for 2022/23 | OneFootball

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Football League World

·26 September 2022

“Some club’s I’ve managed…” – Tony Mowbray reveals Sunderland owner’s expectations for 2022/23

Article image:“Some club’s I’ve managed…” – Tony Mowbray reveals Sunderland owner’s expectations for 2022/23

Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray has revealed that Black Cats owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus is not expecting him to win promotion to the Premier League this season.

The North East club returned to the Championship via the League One play-offs last term and have made a strong start to life back in the second tier despite losing Alex Neil to Stoke City in August.


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Neil has been replaced by Mowbray in the dugout and the former Blackburn Rovers boss has helped them maintain an impressive start to the season.

Sunderland sit fifth in the Championship table with 15 points from 10 games and look to be one of many clubs chasing a play-off place in 2022/23.

Speaking to The Northern Echo, Mowbray has revealed that there is no pressure on him to win promotion to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

He said: “I understand the pressure of 40,000 fans.

“What’s good for me is that the owner isn’t saying ‘it’s promotion this year’. I don’t think there is any teams that will runaway with this league but we will be competitive. But there is no huge pressure to be first or second or you are out. Some clubs I’ve managed, you have to win every game.”

Sunderland are back in action on Saturday when they host Preston North End at the Stadium of Light.

If you love Sunderland, you really should be scoring 24+ on this quiz about iconic Black Cats moments

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Article image:“Some club’s I’ve managed…” – Tony Mowbray reveals Sunderland owner’s expectations for 2022/23

HOW MANY PREMIER LEAGUE/TOP FLIGHT ENGLISH TITLES HAVE SUNDERLAND WON?

4 5 6 7

The Verdict

The early signs are that appointing Mowbray as Neil’s replacement was a shrewd move from Sunderland and it’s the right move to temper expectations slightly given he took charge during their first season back at Championship level.

Though there have been some early pace setters, the league looks fairly open this term and the Black Cats could well be the ones that benefit.

It’s important, however, that expectations aren’t set too high after a strong start to the campaign – particularly given Mowbray has a fairly young squad.

Judging from the manager’s comments, Louis-Dreyfus understands that and is willing to be patient, which can only be a good thing.

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