Sunderland vs Watford - David Moyes coming out fighting at Sunderland

Posted Saturday, December 17, 2016 by PA

Sunderland boss David Moyes has vowed to stick out his chest and fight after being told he will not be able to buy his way out of Premier League relegation trouble.

Black Cats chief executive Martin Bain revealed earlier this week that Moyes would have "very limited" funds with which to deal in the January transfer window, making a repeat of predecessor Sam Allardyce's ultimately successful B£15million splurge on Lamine Kone, Jan Kirchhoff and Wahbi Khazri 12 months ago extremely unlikely.

But despite chairman Ellis Short's decision not to invest heavily once again with a debt burden of around B£140million and Premier League wage cap rules making life intensely difficult on Wearside, Moyes remains unbowed.

He said: "Yes, there is a frustration with it, but obviously what I am going to do is I am going to stand up and stick my chest out and get on with it and see how we get on.

"I am going to fight for it and I would expect everybody else at the club to do the same.

"It gives me something to look at and say if we can getting everyone pulling 100 per cent together, if we can use the small squad, the group we have got and say, 'Look, we are in it, this is it, this is what we have got, come on. Pull together'.

"'We have got to give 100 per cent in all the games - we can't have it any other way. Whether you are injured or not, patch yourself up, get out'...

"And you know sometimes, that can galvanise you as well. Maybe the supporters will see that as well. That's what we have to try to do."

Moyes, who is already without long-term absentees Lee Cattermole, Paddy McNair, Lynden Gooch and Duncan Watmore, was a dealt a fresh blow on Friday when it emerged that midfielder Kirchhoff, who played a key role in last season's survival mission, is facing an extended spell on the sidelines with a knee cartilage injury.

Meanwhile Walter Mazzarri has discovered the Premier League's competitive nature means managing Watford is no different to taking charge of Napoli or Inter Milan.

The experienced 55-year-old took his first job in England this season and has led the Hornets to 11th place in the Premier League table ahead of Saturday's trip to Sunderland.

Mazzarri and Moyes include illustrious clubs with Champions League pedigree on the respective CVs but meet in the north east with survival in England instead paramount for their current teams.

However, Mazzarri believes the fact this country's top flight is more open from top to bottom has ensured his time in Hertfordshire is not too dissimilar to his spells in Naples and Milan.

"Being in the Premier League this year is a valuable experience in any case because there are so many top-level managers running all the teams, not just the big ones," the Italian said.

"All matches, as we have seen, can be absolutely engaging in any case, and therefore I personally don't feel much of a difference if I compare this experience to my time as a manager of a top-level team such as Napoli and Inter, as my involvement is comparable.

"And I think the same applies to Moyes. It is the Premier League context that makes the difference and makes you feel important, here you feel that you have a chance to win even against the leading teams."

Watford will be missing attacking midfielder Roberto Pereyra.

Though the exact nature of the knee injury he sustained against Manchester City is not yet known, Pereyra will definitely miss out in the north east, along with Northern Ireland international Craig Cathcart (groin).

Valon Behrami will return from illness, while Troy Deeney is set to return to the starting line-up, as is Younes Kaboul, against his old club, having missed the past three Hornets fixtures with a calf strain.