German midfielder Jan Kirchhoff's next target is to earn a first team start at the Stadium of Light when Sunderland hosting Everton on Monday evening in the late kick off.
Kirchhoff has been out of action with a hamstring strain which left him sidelined for the opening three games for the Black Cats while also missing some pre-season friendlies.
Anticipated return to the pitch
However the 25-year-old made his highly anticipated return when he featured in the game against Rochdale on Tuesday night in the Checkatrade Trophy tie at the Crown Oil Arena.
He managed to come through his first 90 minutes of the season unscathed and is hoping for a recall by David Moyes for Monday’s clash to play a part in the game on Wearside.
The Sunderland star has yet to feature for the Black Cats in the Premier League this season and he is hoping to build on the solid foundations laid at the Academy of Light and Tuesday night’s game.
Ready for the next challenge - the return to the Premier League
“I’m really looking forward to the next few weeks.” said the German.
Having tried his “best in training” for the past few weeks, he feels that hopefully his dedication shows Moyes that Kirchhoff “deserves” to be in the starting line-up against the Toffees.
He continued: “It has been a busy summer with players leaving and arriving as well as a new manager, but I think we have a really good base to build from.
With “targets” being set by the manager for the players to “improve” from last season, with new players coming in the squad who have a lot of “quality” and the ambition to win as “many games” as possible.
He concluded: “The team is not content with simply staying in the league and we want to achieve a bigger goal.”