Tony Mowbray reveals how Sunderland have used the international break | OneFootball

Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray has revealed that he gave Black Cats players a fair bit of rest over the international break after a tough run of midweek games in the Championship.

The North East club are back in action against Preston North End on Saturday, which comes a fortnight after their last game – the 2-2 draw with Watford at Vicarage Road.

While some teams in the second tier will have been frustrated with the timing of the international break as it threatens to halt their momentum, it seems Mowbray was happy to use the time to give his players a bit of time to rest and recover.

The experienced coach only took charge at Sunderland around a month ago and he was asked whether he’d used the international break to get to know the squad better, he told club media: “A little bit.

“I felt they’d had a really tough run of midweek games etc. going into that break so we did give them a couple of days off, a couple of days in, and then another couple of days off.

“The internationals were away so some of the new lads have been away.”

Games are set to come thick and fast once the Championship gets back underway – with 10 games between the 1st of October and the start of the winter World Cup break on the 12th of November.

That busy period will likely have a massive say in who challenges for a top six place and who loses pace with the sides higher up the table.

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The Verdict

It’s hard to disagree with any of the decisions that Mowbray’s made since replacing Alex Neil in the dugout and you have to feel giving the players some time to rest during the international break makes a lot of sense.

They’ve got a ridiculously busy six weeks or so coming up and giving them some time to recharge should mean they’re less likely to burn out at any point.

Mowbray deserves a lot of credit for the impact he’s had in his first month or so at the helm.

Neil’s departure threatened to derail their first season back in the Championship but they’ve found more momentum under the new boss.