Stephen Elliott has called on Ethan Robson and Josh Scowen to start for Sunderland as attention turns to the weekend's game with Ipswich Town.

The Black Cats fell to a 2-0 defeat against Portsmouth on Saturday  - a result which saw them end their previous run of nine games without a defeat.

The clash with the Tractor Boys will be another big game but Sunderland will need to put in a better display than they did against Pompey.

The Wearsiders were clearly second best at Fratton Park, and after keeping a consistent line-up over recent weeks, Elliott has backed Phil Parkinson to shuffle his pack to keep the opposition guessing.

He said: "Disappointing result!

"Robson and Scowen to start in midfield next week for me. No harm in mixing it up at times.

"Under Roy he did it at the right times when we went up in promotion Championship season 2006. Use the squad accordingly.

"The least Robson deserves is a chance."

 

The verdict

While you can understand Phil Parkinson's decision to stick with a winning formula, there's nothing wrong with shuffling the pack.

There's a lot of games still to play this season and if the Black Cats are going to keep up the tempo over the next few months they'll need to have a few options for how they can line up.

Following the defeat to Portsmouth it may be the perfect time to make some changes.

Sunderland made a few new additions last month and so if Parkinson chose to include them against Ipswich I don't think that many people will be surprised.