Former Newcastle striker an 'obvious threat' to Sunderland, says Tony Mowbray

Tony Mowbray has described former Newcastle striker Andy Carroll as an ‘obvious threat’ for Reading against Sunderland this weekend.

Carroll is available again to Royals boss Paul Ince after he served a suspension for an FA Cup red card against Manchester United.

He is a player with history against Sunderland, scoring against them for both Newcastle and West Ham, and Mowbray knows his team will have to respect the danger he poses.

“They carry some obvious threats, I think Andy Carroll is available after being suspended,” Mowbray said.

“There are some obvious threats from them and it’s just the next game for us and a big challenge to try and get three points.”

Sunderland head into the game with confidence fuelled by a good performance against Premier League side Fulham in midweek.

They ultimately lost 3-2 at the Stadium of Light, but they gave a very good account of themselves.

“I think it gives the players a bit of confidence, a bit of belief that they can compete at a certain level,” Mowbray said.

“You could feel their extra quality and extra positional play, the way they play and trust each other. I think we are trying to develop a positional game, yet the Championship is a little bit different to the Premier League in the way it’s played and different types of teams.

“In possession we are trying to have a pretty fluid team if we can and there are lessons to be learnt from it.

“That’s gone now and we move onto the next game. Reading is a totally different challenge for us and one we should be looking forward to.

“Hopefully we can take some confidence into the game and make life difficult for Reading.”

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