Everything Lee Johnson said on Cheltenham, Portsmouth, Denver Hume, Ross Stewart and Arbenit Xhemajli

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The Black Cats are top of League One after defeating Cheltenham Town 5-0 at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday evening.

Ross Stewart scored twice for the Black Cats after Bailey Wright’s headed opener to put the hosts in full control at the half-time interval.

Second-half goals from Luke O’Nien and substitute Leon Dajaku, his first for the club, then put even more gloss on the scoreline.

New signings Nathan Broadhead and Niall Huggins also impressed on their first starts for the club, as Johnson made five changes following Saturday’s 1-0 win over Bolton.

The result saw Sunderland move to the top of the League One table after nine games, as Wigan failed to beat Sheffield Wednesday at the DW Stadium.

Johnson will now hope his side can maintain momentum when they travel to Portsmouth on Saturday.

We’ll have the latest SAFC news, analysis and more throughout the day:

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Sunderland AFC transfer news LIVE (September 29)

Key Events

Sunderland defeated Cheltenham Town 5-0 at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday evening
The Black Cats are now top of League One after Wigan Athletic’s loss to Sheffield Wednesday

Wed, 29 Sep, 2021, 13:56 BST

Wed, 29 Sep, 2021, 13:51 BST

Wed, 29 Sep, 2021, 13:50 BST

LJ on expectations:

Internally it’s easy to manage expectations. All we can control is improving performances. I don’t think we have a group that will get ahead of ourselves.

Today’s training was a bit sloppy and we were aggressive on demanding standards. We could have let things slide but we wanted to set standards.

I think the challenge will be in the winter with young players. In the summer the pitches are nice and the sun is shining.

Wed, 29 Sep, 2021, 13:48 BST

LJ on Stewart, Hume and Arby:

We’re taking both players day by day. We have been pleased with both for different reasons. They are different injuries. Denver has been moving well and is nearly ready.

I might look to start him in that Papa Johns game and then look to withdraw him.

Arby I’ll be looking to play in some under-23 home games.

On Stewart: My good friend Brian McCdermott. I was pretty close to taking another job. We were talking. It was a Championship role and we were talking about potential players. He has a really good eye. We had a good watch of him for someone else!

Then he was on the radar. Rosco turned down Championship clubs to move to Sunderland.

Naturally, I am attracted to the Embleton type of player but Stewart offers something different.

Wed, 29 Sep, 2021, 13:44 BST

LJ on squad and enjoyment:

It isn’t always easy as there’s 100s of hours of analysis that has gone in. You pull in all of this information and then you go in a dark room and pick a team.

Sometimes in comes off, sometimes it doesn’t. You hope you make more right decisions than wrong ones.

I wish I could enjoy it. I have so much on my mind regarding the Papa Johns and internationals. You often don’t get a chance to enjoy it but you get enjoyment when the fans are happy. I’m a people pleaser.

That connection between the style of play and the brand.

Generally it is down to the players and they are the warriors stepping over the line.