Mowbray believes Championship is ‘wide open’ with no standout team

Tony Mowbray believes the Championship is wide open this season – but says Sunderland must just take each game as it comes.

A 3-0 win over Rotherham UnitedinMowbray'sfirstgame inchargemovedtheBlackCats –whoyesterdayconfirmedthe appointmentofMarkVenusas his assistant – to within striking distance of the play-off places in the early table.

With a young squad still adapting to the league, Mowbray was clear when asked about his aspirations for this season that there would be some difficult days and dips in form along the way.

However, he does feel that well-organised teams can make a dent in a division lacking a standout team like Fulham were last season.

"We've just got to take each game as it comes," Mowbray said.

"Look, it's a tough league. There's a lot of travelling, a lot of experienced players, a lot of experiencedcoachesandevery gameistough.Itcanbeveryattritional. We aspire to win and keep winning but I know there are some difficult games and days around the corner – that's football.

"What I do believe...there's no Fulham in the league this year. You played them last year and you felt their quality all over the pitch, their positional play and the speed they moved the ball, it was a different quality.

"I'm not sure there's any of those teams in the league this year. If you can get your own model right and your team functioning,Ithinkanyonecan be competitive. All the games I've watched our team, they've been competitive. Norwich (City) are favourites for promotion this year and for large parts of that game we were the better football side, more positiveandlookedlikeweweregoing to score.

"We should be positive and look, who knows as the games tick away, we've shown we can win home and away. It's a great league and it's exciting, so let's enjoy the journey."

Sunderland face Middlesbrough tonight, and Mowbray added: “I watched the Watford versus Middlesbrough game and I thought the Championship is looking stronger every week. I did feel it was lacking quality in the early weeks and now I think the big teams are startingtoshowtheirqualities.

"It was a really high class game. They will be a different test for us in a piscivorous atmosphere and a local derby. Young boys, can they stand up to it? What I can guarantee our supporters is that they will be fighting tooth and nail."