The former Sunderland head coach reflects on Sunderland's promotion back to the top tier
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00:00One of the things that I sometimes think about teams
00:02who go up to the Premier League is they're completely committed
00:04to a possession style and then really struggle
00:06when they play against Man City, Liverpool.
00:08One of the things I really like about this manager is
00:10he's very, very versatile.
00:11And we did see that in the playoffs.
00:13Is that something that gives you a little bit of hope
00:15that he is quite happy to play a very compact style,
00:19very, very sort of structured,
00:21and he'll do whatever it takes to win the game?
00:23One million percent.
00:25I would say there is no more than 100%,
00:28but I would say yes, because you need that.
00:31You need that.
00:33It's been proven that to be able to maintain your style,
00:37especially if it's possession football,
00:38you need to be better than most,
00:41and they are all better than you.
00:44And you can go at any level.
00:46You can go at any team.
00:47You're going to go and suffer everywhere.
00:50I saw, like I said to you, Burnley, I saw Ipswich,
00:54I saw Southampton in the Championship,
00:56and you will think at that time,
00:57they play well, and then they go up.
01:00And I mean, the struggle is a struggle.
01:03We're not talking about being close.
01:05They are not even close to get safe.
01:07And you want to,
01:08you know that maybe you will fight the relegation,
01:11but you want to have a chance.
01:12And these teams, they didn't have any chance.
01:15So I think the coach probably now needs a rest,
01:20for sure.
01:20And after that, he really needs to start analysing the quality
01:25and the strength of the teams in the Premier League.
01:29I would say to him as well, if I can,
01:32how big they are, the players, in the Premier League.
01:35They are athletes, they are big, they are strong,
01:38they are in the gym, they are massive.
01:40And you think you're going to be able to play with little players?
01:44No.
01:45Difficult.
01:46Difficult.
01:46So that one is the part that you need to strengthen as well,
01:49to be powerful enough to compete.