Sunderland manager Jack Ross has been giving an insight into what he feels he wants to add to players who he signs at the Stadium of Light. 

Speaking to the Roker Report podcast, he gave a wide ranging interview on his recruitment and what he hopes to see from a player when they arrive at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland were particularly busy in the transfer window, with a number of high profile moves including Josh Maja leaving the club and Will Grigg arriving. When these moves happen, Ross hopes to have added to the player during his time with them.

"Part of your job is to make players better and we take great pride in that," he told the popular podcast. "We may not always get it right but we take great pride in kind of, what drives us on a daily basis is to say can we keep making those players better?"

"Now that doesn’t necessarily just mean it’s a young one - it can be ‘can we make Grant Leadbitter any better?’ Now we might not, as he’s a good player, a top player, but can we do anything that might improve him? If we can, then great and if we have done then we’ve done our jobs properly."

33-year-old Leadbitter returned to the club he emerged with this summer after a long and varied career with Middlesbrough and has gone straight into the side as they look for an immediate return to the Championship.

Maja, a young player signed from Fulham in 2016, certainly left the club a better player than he arrived, proving that to an extent, Ross' tactic is working.

The Verdict

It's great to see a manager and owner indulging fan driven media s much as Ross and Stewart Donald do at Sunderland. The Roker Report gets lots of great information from the pair and this is no different.

Ross certainly seems to add value to the players he has in the squad, Maja being a prime example. He went from fringe player to top dog in a matter of months, due in no small part to the faith shown in him by the manager.