Alex Neil admits Sunderland still have a lot of work to do as they look to strengthen their squad ready for the Championship. The Black Cats have landed two signings already, with winger Jack Clarke arriving from Spurs yesterday, and defender Daniel Ballard from Arsenal just over a week ago, along with the conversion of Leon Dajaku's loan into a permanent move which was triggered by achieving promotion.
But Sunderland's squad is still light on numbers as a whole, and with gaps in key areas, following the departures of half-a-dozen first-teamers at the end of last season either because their contracts expired or their loans came to an end. And Neil recognises that there is a balance to be struck in order to get the right players at the right price.
"We know we need to add more, that's obvious," said Neil, in the wake of Sunderland's friendly against Rangers, which was abandoned at half-time due to a powercut. "The difficulty you've got is to get the right deals, at the right price, within the structure we've got, sometimes you need to wait a little bit.
READ MORE: Alex Neil on a frustrating evening as Sunderland's friendly against Rangers is abandoned
"We've got two players [Ballard and Clarke] who are on the up, their careers going in the right direction, and that's what our model is. To get those players is not easy and a lot of hard work has gone into that.
"So we're really pleased with that, but equally we know there's a lot to do. There's clearly positions where we need more cover and competition.
"Go up and down the country and I'm pretty sure every team would say the same, though."
Asked whether any deals are close to coming to fruition, he added: "Listen, there's no one round the corner ready to come in tomorrow morning. We have got discussions ongoing on a number of players where we're talking on a daily basis, so we just need to wait and see what happens."
Sunderland will also utilise the loan market- as they look for reinforcements, but teams often prefer to wait until later in the window before deciding which players they want to keep and which they are prepared to loan out. Neil said: "I'm optimistic about what we've got currently, how they're working and what they're doing. That side of it has been really good.
"Every coach wants their players all in as soon as possible but to be honest, a lot of those decisions are not even in our hands at the moment, it's about the club you're dealing with. What happens is, and we're the same, the younger lads who you might consider loaning out for example, you keep them with you to supplement the group and to see who shows well, who might kick on and get an opportunity.
"And then naturally as the window starts to wind down, then teams make their decisions. We're no different but that can unfortunately happen later in the window."
READ NEXT:
- Sunderland's friendly against Rangers abandoned due to a powercut at the stadium
- Sunderland 1-0 Rangers ratings as O'Nien and Pritchard star before the lights went out
- Sunderland supporters infuriated after floodlight failure brings Rangers friendly to halt
- Sunderland's late change of hotel, the board don their boots, and honouring 'The Goalie'
- Jack Clarke's first words after signing four-year deal with Sunderland
