Pierre Ekwah set for bigger Sunderland role after 'penny drops' in aggression message

Pierre Ekwah has upped his aggression in training, and Tony Mowbray says that is giving him a Sunderland selection dilemma.

Michael Graham | Apr 14, 2023

Pierre Ekwah set for bigger Sunderland role after 'penny drops' in aggression message /

Tony Mowbray believes the ‘penny has dropped’ for Pierre Ekwah and he has vowed to reward the Frenchman with more Sunderland starts.

Ekwah joined from West Ham in January but he looked incredibly raw from day one. That was understandable, of course. He arrived on Wearside having never made a senior appearance in his career, and it resulted in him not really being aware of the physicality of men’s football.

He has started to step up to the plate in that regard, though, and he has started two games now, both away from home at Burnley and Cardiff. Sunderland kept clean sheets in both, and Mowbray says Ekwah is starting to bring his physicality to the party now and that can only bode well for the future.

"We had to calm him down in training yesterday because he caught a few with tackles that, a month ago, he wouldn't have thought about making,” Mowbray said. “I think the penny is dropping.

"It was great that he started against Burnley and we were the first team in a year to stop them from scoring at home and he was very much a part of that.

“He's been really positive, taking on board the information and I'm sure Pierre will have a big future as long as he keeps growing, keeps developing, and keeps working on his game."

While the Burnley and Cardiff games were ups for Ekwah, there has also been a big down to overcome as well.

He gave away the penalty that allowed Hull to equalise with the last kick of the game from the penalty spot at the Stadium of Light and had to deal with the criticism that resulted.

Mowbray says that the decision to start him in the next game against Cardiff was in part due to a desire to ‘support’ the youngster, although he does accept he needs to balance that against the needs of the team and the other youngsters in the Sunderland midfield.

"It was a bit of it,” Mowbray said. "I'm trying to give him some gametime and get his some starts because he has taken on board some of the messages that he has had constantly for the last eight weeks or however long he's been here.

“I've been watching him and telling him again and again in training and the penny has dropped, but you then have to allow him to take it onto the pitch.

"But we've also got Edouard [Michut] who is a really talented boy, so we are looking at each particular game and what we think the team needs - if we need to be solid, disciplined and have a bit of physicality, it might be a day for Pierre.

“If we think we're going to have lots and lots of the ball and play through the lines then it might be a day for Michut. We've also got Dan Neil, who balances it off. That's the mindset."

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