“I’m desperate to win”: Sunderland U21s Lead Coach determined to compete in Premier League International Cup
Sunderland Under-21 Lead Coach Graeme Murty has insisted he is “desperate to win” and for his young players to do “really well” in this season’s Premier League International Cup, following his team’s 2-2 draw at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday night.
Sunderland narrowly missed out on qualifying for the knockout stage of the tournament by a single point last year, but Murty wants his team to go one step further this time around.
He said: “If we win, we can get more opportunities for our young players to experience something like this.
“I think it will be a fantastic thing, so the further we can progress in lots of different competitions the better for them.
“The stature of the opposition coming up, we’ve got [Athletic Club] Bilbao, Sporting [Lisbon], and [Borussia] Dortmund coming.
“The lads are already rubbing their hands together.”
Speaking on the performance from his players on the night, Murty explained: “I thought, in the first half, we were passive, we stood off and allowed Anderlecht to have a really good evening.
“We never really got close to them, and didn’t put them under pressure.
Under the lights #SAFC | #PLInternationalCup pic.twitter.com/O4CcdqP4zI
— SAFC Academy (@AcademyOfLight) October 29, 2025
“I thought after a few reminders at half-time, the tempo of the game was significantly higher.
“Our ball speed was significantly better and we were much more aggressive, so once we sorted that out, I think that put us on a better footing to go show what we could do with the ball.
“I thought we deserved, at the very least, a draw.”
The Sunderland youngsters had the added benefit of four first-team players in the squad on Wednesday night.
Brian Brobbey and Eliezer Mayenda played for an hour, with the former scoring the hosts’ first goal of the game, while Anthony Patterson and Luke O’Nien lasted the full game.
Speaking on their influence on the group, Murty singled O’Nien out and his importance in guiding his young side.
He continued: “Luke O’Nien, for example, has just talked about debrief, he’s going to be in the debrief.
“He’s going to talk through his clips, and things he need to do better, and he’s just been really open in the changing room, talked about the review process and how you continue to get better at his age and his stage to get better.”
Murty also noted the importance of their presence allowing his players to step up: “They need to go and prove they deserve to go stand shoulder to shoulder in a first-team changing room.
“If you can go and influence, or go and dictate, or go and be a dominant character in the game, then you have those types of people in there that will stand you in good stead.
“Our young players need to learn how to go and talk to first team players”
He labelled the fixture, played in front of manager Regis Le Bris, and club captain Granit Xhaka, as a “fantastic opportunity on a brilliant pitch in a fantastic stadium to go and show all the assembled staff just how good you can be.”
