Sunderland will be looking to build on Lee Johnson's first win in charge of the club as they head towards the busy festive schedule.
The Black Cats beat Oldham Athletic in the EFL Trophy in midweek, and will be keen to put together a positive run of results at the earliest of opportunities, as they target promotion into the Championship this term.
They're currently sat ninth in the League One table, and are ten points adrift of league-leaders Hull City after their opening 15 matches of this year's campaign.
One player that played his part in their recent win over Oldham was Bailey Wright, who previously played for Johnson whilst the pair were at Bristol City.
Speaking in a recent interview (quotes sourced from the Northern Echo), Wright issued an insight into working under Johnson's management, and revealed that the squad are already taking his approach on board.
"I had some great times with him (Johnson) at Bristol City and left there on good terms, which is always nice as a player. I always had a good relationship with him and when I left we kept in touch, even after he left Bristol City.
"He’s already brought lots of ideas and you can see some real patterns in how we played (at Oldham) and the style of play we want to implement. The positives are that we’re taking it in quickly and we’re only going to get stronger.
"He’s extremely detailed and thoroughly professional in his approach. He enjoys (his coaching work) and no matter the result, he’s always wanting to improve, improve, improve in every aspect. Every detail will be looked at as he puts his stamp and style on things."
Johnson and his Sunderland team are set to return to action this weekend, when they take on Lincoln City, in what is likely to be a tricky test for the Black Cats.
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The Verdict:
This will be promising to hear.
Sunderland needed a new manager with Phil Parkinson struggling for results in League One, and I think Johnson is the right manager to take them forward this season.
He's got experience of managing in the Championship, and it's somewhat of a coup that they've been able to bring him in, despite being in the third-tier.
Results are all that matter now though as we head towards the festive fixtures, and if Sunderland can put together a positive run of results, then I think they'll be in with a real chance of winning promotion back into the Championship.