Sunderland boss Jack Ross has revealed he has pushed the players a lot in the last week as they gear up for their season-opener against Oxford next month.

The Black Cats suffered play-off agony last season as they lost the final at Wembley to a stoppage time goal from Charlton that condemned them to another year in the third-tier.

However, the focus now is on going one better next time around and Ross told the club's media he is pleased with how things are going as they build up the players fitness ahead of what will be a gruelling campaign.

"The players have worked hard over the last seven or eight days. Their conditioning levels have returned, and we have pushed them as hard as we can. We’ve taken them to points where they’ll need to be at stages throughout the season and I think that’s important."

The Wearside outfit begin their pre-season programme with a game against local non-league side South Shields before they head off to Portugal where they will play another two games.

The Verdict

It seems as though Ross is happy with where his team are at right now, which is obviously a good sign as they get ready for the new season.

Getting the players up to speed in the next month is vital for how they will be able to cope throughout the campaign so he will be aware of how important it is.

Given the way they lost promotion last season you would imagine that everyone connected to the club will be desperate for the competitive action to start up again.

But, they will use these games first as a chance to work on fitness and team shape, starting tonight.

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