Martin O'Neill has challenged new boys Adam Johnson and Steven Fletcher to reward his faith in them by bringing goals to Sunderland.
Black Cats owner Ellis Short spent in excess of ?20million on the pair last Friday in an effort to significantly increase the club's firepower with England international Johnson recruited to provide the ammunition for Scot Fletcher and Stephane Sessegnon, who responded on Friday by signing a contract extension. However, while O'Neill was thrilled to land both of his top summer targets within hours, he knows the investment will count for little if they do not produce the goods on the pitch. He said: "At the moment, you would have to say it's still potential because we have still to go and prove that we are capable of scoring goals in the big league. "I think we are. We have got some alternatives, we can attack from different areas of the field and that's all very, very encouraging. "Of course, you need players to stay fit, but if they did do, I think we can cause problems." Johnson and Fletcher are in line to make Barclays Premier League debuts for the club at Swansea tomorrow four days after pulling on a red and white shirt for the first time. Former Manchester City winger Johnson, who was yesterday included in Roy Hodgson's England squad for the forthcoming qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine, provided early evidence of his hunger to revive his career on Wearside, to the delight of fans who had craved his arrival for some time. He set up both goals for Republic of Ireland counterpart James McClean, and O'Neill is hoping the addition of Johnson will not only give his side width on both flanks, but will spur the former Derry City man on to even greater heights in his first full season in the senior side. The manager said: "James came through very, very strongly and scored two goals. James is capable of scoring some goals. "He took the second one well - at one moment, it seemed as if it was caught under his feet. "He wants to show as well, he wants to prove himself and with the likes of Johnson coming in, I think that will galvanise James himself." While Johnson is close to full match fitness despite his lack of action at City before his move, Fletcher had barely 45 minutes of pre-season football under his belt on his arrival from Wolves after finding himself at the centre of a protracted transfer saga. However, O'Neill is confident he is ready to start a Premier League game, if not necessarily finish it. He said: "The length of time he was on the field the other day gives him that extra bit of match fitness, getting used to the surroundings, getting used to the players we have at the football club. "And of course, he is training on a daily basis as well, so I am pretty happy. "Whether he is able to last games or not is another issue, but I am sure he would want to start in the team if it's at all possible." Sunderland opened the campaign with a creditable 0-0 draw at Arsenal, but saw last weekend's first home fixture against Reading washed out. Swansea's league start, however, has been even more impressive, a 5-0 away win at QPR and a 3-0 home victory over West Ham building on last season's success despite Brendan Rodgers' departure and the subsequent arrival of Michael Laudrup in his place. O'Neill said: "He was a fantastic footballer, one of the best and from all accounts, he is a highly intelligent man who will know that not making sweeping changes is the way to go, particularly if something has been working so well for the football club. "The results seem to suggest that he knows what he's doing." O'Neill strengthened his squad further today by snapping up left-back Danny Rose on a season-long loan deal from Tottenham. Rose will be expected to fill the void left by Kieran Richardson's departure for Fulham. The Doncaster-born defender represented Team GB at the London Olympics, making four appearances.
Source: team talk
Source: team talk