Tony Mowbray says Niall Huggins will 'feature plenty' for Sunderland

Why was fit-again full-back excluded from the Sunderland squad that played Millwall?

Tony Mowbray admits it was a ‘tough call’ to leave Niall Huggins out of the Sunderland squad that beat Millwall.

Huggins has had a torrid time with injury, but he stepped up to play the full 90 minutes of Sunderland’s last game before the World Cup break at Birmingham.

That was to solve an injury crisis with Dennis Cirkin, Aji Alese, Lynden Gooch and Luke O’Nien all unavailable, but Huggins put in a fine performance at St Andrews.

However, he wasn’t even on the bench for the win over Millwall.

"Huggins didn't even make the bench [against Millwall], but he has been out for a long, long, time and he was amazing against Birmingham," said Mowbray. "But that's football - I can only put seven on the bench, and I can only pick 11 on the pitch.

"They're tough calls, but it's good to have a squad where you are leaving players out who genuinely believe they should be in, and yet they are not because of the quality they have in front of them."

It’s hard not to wonder how different things could have been for Huggins had he remained fit during his first season at Sunderland.

The Black Cats squad looked light on full-backs when he arrived but now it’s a real strength, especially with Gooch and O’Nien stepping up to Championship level.

Now, according to Mowbray, patience is the name of the game for the former Leeds man.

"As I've said previously, he was a player we tried to sign at Blackburn Rovers,” he said. “I like Niall, I've liked him for a few years to be honest, so to see him and his enthusiasm on the training pitch and the quality he brings, he is an important addition to the group.

"He has some competition at the moment, if you think of both full-back positions. At left-back you've got Cirkin and Aji, who can both play centre-back as well, and then on the right you've got Trai Hume who has done so well and Gooch and O'Nien can play there, too.

"I'm just pleased that Niall is fit. He has to stay fit and train every day and build up his robustness. I'm sure he will feature plenty in the team as we move forward."

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