Sunderland legend 'impressed but not surprised' by fine Tony Mowbray start

Kevin Phillips says he has been impressed by how well Tony Mowbray has done at Sunderland, but not surprised.

Mowbray came into Sunderland in late August when former boss Alex Neil walked out to join Championship rivals Stoke City.

In previous eras, that would have caused a crisis and serious upheaval at Sunderland, but Mowbray was appointed within days and the transition has been seamless while the club continued their impressive recent progress.

However, while many fans were unconvinced by Mowbray when he was first appointed, Phillips has fond memories of the Teessider from when he played under him during his career.

“I’ve been very impressed,” Phillips said at the opening of a new William Hill in Washington. “It doesn’t surprise me, though, as I played under Tony [Mowbray] for two years at West Brom.

“He came in at a difficult time but he’s steadied the ship and they’re now playing some really good football.

“They’ve got some really exciting players like [Alex] Pritchard and they’ve now got Ross Stewart back as well as Jack Clarke.

“This season looked like being one of consolidation but the longer it goes on and the position they now find themselves in, with good players as confident as they are, they can hurt teams.

"I think they’ve got to aim for the play-offs and I think they are well capable of getting there.”

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