Tony Mowbray has previewed his second game in charge of Sunderland ahead of Monday night, when he makes a return to his native Teesside to face Middlesbrough.
The new Head Coach started life on Wearside with a bang on Wednesday night, as the Lads roared to a 3-0 victory over Rotherham United.
“It’s been a whirlwind few days personally, of course,” Mowbray remarked.
“Having got to know the place this week, the facilities are really impressive, but at a football club it’s about the people in the building rather than the building itself.
“Everyone has been really helpful, and we had a game the day after I entered the building which couldn’t have gone much better. I feel refreshed and ready to go, and Monday is a huge opportunity to continue from Wednesday and look to win the game.”
The boss touched on his time at Boro – a place fans still avidly support him having both played for and managed the club – before commending what he has witnessed early on from his new squad of players.
“I played and managed down the road at Middlesbrough for a long time, as is well established, but I’m a professional. I’m Sunderland Head Coach now and we’re going to try to win every game.
“In my short time with the players, they appear to be a young, motivated and driven group who are quite tight-knit. I’m huge on helping footballers to develop, and I see a very switched-on group here.
“Having grown up in the North East, managing Sunderland, managing Middlesbrough, I know the environment and the people who come to the matches. I lived and breathed that myself, and as a result it’s the kind of culture I look to instil into my football team.”
Mowbray stressed that supporters will see a dedicated and highly charged performance from his side against Chris Wilder’s men, with the Lads sat just three points from the summit of the Sky Bet Championship table.
“The teams I’ve managed in the past against Middlesbrough at the Riverside, we’ve usually tended to pick up good results. I hope and expect us to go down there on Monday and give a really good account of ourselves.
“In games like these, every tackle, every ball and every duel – the game looks after itself, and the atmosphere from the supporters comes with that. We’ll contest every ball ferociously – they tend to be tight games, and we’re looking forward to it.
“Any kind of reception I don’t really think about. Of course there is an affection there as I spent 12 years of my life at Middlesbrough. But like I say, this is my job, this is where I’m proud to work and we’ll be doing everything we can to get three points on Monday night.”