'Thanks for the memories' - Tony Mowbray thanks 'inspirational' Sunderland supporters

Tony Mowbray has thanks the ‘inspirational and phenomenal’ Sunderland supporters as he spoke for the first time since his sacking.

Mowbray was relieved of his head coaching duties at the Wearside club nine days ago after a poor run of just two wins in nine matches.

However, his departure was more about the next stage of the club’s development than anything that Mowbray himself had done to lose the support of the club.

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He has now had his say via a statement published through the LMA, and it is every bit as classy as you’d expect from such a respected operator.

"After fifteen eventful months my time at Sunderland has come to an end,” Mowbray said.

"I would like to thank Kyril Louis-Dreyfus for entrusting me to lead such a historic and significant Football Club.

"I believe that I leave the Club in a positive place in terms of both league position and also with a strong and unified dressing room.

"To the players, thank you. You have been a pleasure to work with. You are a special group with humility being a core value within the dressing room. Thank you for embracing our methods and I hope that you enjoyed the journey.

"I am grateful to the senior professionals who acted as role models and mentors for their young team mates and also thankful to the young players who thrived under the style of play.

"To all of the support staff at both the training ground and the stadium, thank you for creating such a positive environment in which the players flourished.

"Finally, I would like to thank the most important people at any football club, the supporters. I will forever be grateful for the amazing support that you gave to the team but also to me personally. As a native Teessider, the warmth that I received from Wearside was truly special. It is a bond that I genuinely appreciate.

"The atmosphere that you created at the Stadium of Light was inspirational and to those of you who travelled in your many thousands supporting the team around the country your support was phenomenal.

"I leave energised and enthusiastic for my next challenge. Thank you for the memories."

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