Sunderland striker Kyle Lafferty says he has no complaints about the wait for his first start for the club he had to endure, after his goalscoring full debut for the Black Cats on Saturday afternoon.

Lafferty, who had already made nine appearances for the club from the bench after signing for Sunderland in January, was handed his first start for Phil Parkinson's side at the weekend, and made an instant impact by scoring both Sunderland goals in a 2-2 draw with Gillingham.

That chance in the starting lineup came following an injury to fellow striker Charlie Wyke, who had kept Lafferty out of the XI before then, despite the clamour from certain sections of the Sunderland support for the Northern Irishman to take Wyke's place in the side, although it seems Lafferty himself did not necessarily agree with those calls.

Reflecting on his wait for a start following that draw with Gillingham, Lafferty was full of praise for Wyke as he told The Sunderland Echo: “I've been biding my time for six or seven weeks now.

“I think Charlie has done superbly well, scored goals, his link-up play and everything else - I've been impressed with him myself. But he's injured, so that's given me the nod today and two goals is a good start."

Indeed, it seems Lafferty himself is not ruling out the possibility of playing alongside Wyke when the latter returns from injury, as he continued: “I think I'll offer something slightly different than Charlie. His hold-up play is slightly better than mine, but I'll get in behind defenders more than him I'd say.

“It’s good that the manager has that option for both of us and if he decides to play one of us or both, then I think we'll thrive off it."

Next up for Lafferty and Sunderland - who are currently fifth in the League One table, three points off automatic promotion, is a trip to the Memorial Stadium to face struggling Bristol Rovers on Tuesday night.

The Verdict

I think this is good to see from Lafferty.

Things can't have been easy for Wyke recently, with the scrutiny his performances have come under from certain areas of the club's fanbase, which are unlikely to have escaped his attention.

The fact therefore that he has been given the backing here of a player in Lafferty who is competing for his place in the side, should at least give him something of a boost in confidence, and maintain a good harmony within the squad.

Indeed, playing the pair together may not be the worst idea for Sunderland, considering the added attacking threat it could provide them with as they go in search of automatic promotion over the next few weeks.