Tony Mowbray explains why Corry Evans is so vital to Sunderland despite long-term injury

Tony Mowbray has explained the huge contribution that Corry Evans makes to Sunderland, and why it was so important to extend his contract.

Evans is out for ‘the season and beyond’ due to a serious knee injury, but he has signed a new deal to keep him at Sunderland until at least 2024.

He won’t be able to play for much of that time, but Mowbray believes he will still be a vital figure for the club regardless.

“I’ve always called the football dressing room a living organism,” Mowbray said. “It lives and breathes and people do right and wrong things.

“Some new players might not know the boundaries and the standards that are set and someone needs to administer them. There is an old football saying that a head coach is only as good as his senior pros and Corry is the guy that runs that dressing room.

“He makes sure that the players adhere to the standards and the demands. These types of footballers are so important at any club.

“We’ve talked a lot about the benefits and the negatives of how young this football team is but it is really important that we’ve got people that lead them and set the standards. Corry fits into all of that.”

Those were just some of the reasons for extending Evans’s stay on Wearside, though. Mainly, though, Mowbray felt there was a moral element to it too.

“It’s obviously the right thing to do,” he said. “Having known Corry for the last five years at Blackburn Rovers, I know what he brings to the football club.

“He led the team and was instrumental in the promotion out of League One. I know how important he is in the dressing room and the respect he has got with the rest of the players.

“With his injury situation at the moment, the right thing to do was to give him peace of mind and to make sure he knows the club are there to support him through this period.”

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