Tony Mowbray says it will take 'a few transfer windows' for Sunderland to bridge the gap between their current situation and the levels set by automatic promotion candidates Sheffield United. The Black Cats ran the Blades close at the Stadium of Light, and only a controversial goal - which the referee admitted afterwards should have been disallowed for offside - handed the visitors victory and prevented Mowbray's men earning a point.
But while Sunderland competed for long spells against the South Yorkshire side, Mowbray felt there was a difference in quality and experience between the sides with the Black Cats having only just returned to the Championship after four seasons in League One, whereas the Blades were playing Premier League football the season before last, qualified for the play-offs last season, and are currently on course to win automatic promotion. Sunderland are in the process of building a team and have signed a number of young, exciting, talents including foreign players such as Edouard Michut - who scored Sunderland's goal last night - Abdoullah Ba, Jewison Bennette, and Isaac Lihadji, who are still adapting to the demands of the English game.
"We were better in the second half, and yet their quality showed in the first half," said Mowbray, "and rightly so because they were playing in the Premier League while we were in League One.
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"We're trying to close that gap but it does take a few transfer windows to do that, and time to polish up Edouard and Abdoullah and Jewison and Isaac. They can't just come over and then within weeks take the division by storm - it's a tough division and we'll have nights like last night where it doesn't quite go our way.
"But as I keep saying, there's not an expectation that we are going to make the top six or get promoted this season - we've just got promoted from League One. We've got a very inexperienced team with maybe three players who have played any amount of games in this division, the rest this is the first time they have been in the Championship and I think they are doing pretty well.
"I was disappointed that in the first half that we couldn't lay a glove on an experienced side with a lot of players who were part of a squad that finished ninth in the Premier League a few years ago."
On-loan Paris St Germain midfielder Michut put Sunderland ahead on the half-hour, but Sheffield's on-loan Manchester City man James McAtee levelled in first half injury time. Tommy Doyle's free-kick on the hour won the game, but Mowbray was furious that it was allowed to stand with Sander Berge in an offside position when the kick was taken and the Norwegian made an attempt to connect with the ball which meant the flag should have gone up.
Mowbray said: "I'm frustrated because of the way we lost that game, but I don't sit here looking over my shoulder worrying about the bottom three of the table and whether we are going to get sucked in. There are nine big events to go, nine games to go and test yourselves and see whether you can be part of this club progressing in the Championship as it needs to in the next few years.
"It needs to recruit well, it needs players to create competition in the squad and we'll get to the point where we are really disappointed if we can't beat teams at home. That's the growth that needs to happen, and Sheffield United are a lot further on having been in the Premier League only a few years ago."
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