Midfielder Jeremain Lens says this week in France is the pinnacle of Sunderland’s pre-season plans, and it is also the perfect opportunity to make an impression on new boss, David Moyes.
The Lads embarked on their travels to the south of France on Sunday, after Saturday's positive 2-1 friendly victory win at the New York Stadium against Rotherham United. The game went ahead despite the Millers concern over injuries prior to the match.
Positive attitude
After being confirmed as the Black Cats' new manager earlier on Saturday, Moyes watched his side’s win from the stands before briefly taking the pitch on the final whistle to applaud the cheering visiting fans.
And having shown signs of his true ability during the Sunderland’s two pre-season games so far, Lens is looking to progress further to impress the new boss.
Since signing for the club back in July 2015 under the reign of Dutch legend Dick Advocaat on a four-year contract from FC Dynamo Kyiv, Moyes will be his third manager.
Unfortunately, Lens fell out of favor with former Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce and was subsequently dropped from the squad and for a time.
But now under new management Lens hopes to catch the eye of the new boss Moyes, and the time to do so is now: “It is going to be an important week (in France) now.” It is also important for the “new manager” to see his players, what he has got to work with and it is also a good chance for the team to prove to the new boss what they can do.
Lens believes, “It’s going to be a good week." This year “pre-season has been good” but - with the whirlwind behind the scenes - it is even “more important” that the team works as hard as they can in France, ready to fly back to Austria for their final friendly. “After that, we will see how things will go,” he concluded.