KEVIN PHILLIPS is sick of seeing Sunderland’s most talented strikers leave the club – and has urged Ross Stewart to pledge his long-term future to the Stadium of Light.
Stewart’s current deal on Wearside is due to expire at the end of the season, and while the Black Cats can trigger a clause that would automatically extend the agreement by another 12 months, sporting director Kristjaan Speakman and owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus would prefer to tie the Scotland international down to a new long-term contract.
Talks over that contract began in the summer, but there has been little significant progress, raising fears that Stewart could be sold in either the current transfer window or the summer while his value is at its highest.
Since starring for Sunderland between 1997 and 2003, Phillips has watched a host of talented forwards make a major impression on Wearside, only to swiftly move on before their full potential was realised in red-and-white. Darren Bent, who swapped the Black Cats for Aston Villa, is perhaps the most famous example, while more recently, Josh Maja was sold at the midway point of a League One promotion push that ultimately ended in failure without him.
There are fears Stewart’s time with Sunderland could go the same way, but Phillips is urging the Black Cats to do all they can to hold on to their leading scorer, and also feels the 26-year-old would be best served by remaining at the Stadium of Light.
“Ross is very important, and of course I don’t want to see him leave the football club,” said Phillips, who is currently managing just along the road from Sunderland at Northern Premier League side South Shields. “We’ve had some really good strikers play for Sunderland who have left, and I’d love him to not be one of those.
“We all want him to sign a new deal, he’s a top player who scores very important goals. If he can stay fit, he’ll score plenty more, that’s for sure. He’d be a hugely important player for Sunderland moving forwards.”
Phillips has been impressed with Sunderland’s efforts since returning to the Championship, but has not been surprised by the way in which they have progressed under current head coach Tony Mowbray.
Phillips played under Mowbray with West Brom, and was always convinced the Teessider was the ideal choice to replace Alex Neil when the former Black Cats boss jumped ship for Stoke City.
“I’ve been very impressed,” said Phillips, who scored 64 goals and won the European Golden Boot during his time as Sunderland’s lead striker. “It doesn’t surprise me, though, as I played under Tony for two years at West Brom.
“He came in at a difficult time, but he’s steadied the ship and they’re now playing some really good football. I think they’ve got to aim for the play-offs, and I think they are well capable of getting there.
“They’ve got some really exciting players like (Alex) Pritchard and they’ve now got Ross back, as well as Jack Clarke. This season looked like being one of consolidation, but the longer it goes on and the position they now find themselves in, with good players as confident as they are, they can hurt teams.”
With Ellis Simms having been recalled by Everton, Sunderland are short of attacking options beyond Stewart, and if they are to sustain a play-off push in the second half of the season, Phillips feel it is imperative they recruit another forward this month.
“I’d like to see them add another striker, whether that’s on loan or permanently”, he said. “If Ross were to get injured, who is going to be that player that comes in and scores with regularity? So, yeah, I’d like to see them dip into the market in that area, but they do have a transfer policy which they stick by.
“They back their young players, which is great, but they might just need a bit more experience in a few areas to help those younger guys get them into the play-offs.”
* Kevin Phillips was speaking at the launch of the new William Hill’s shop in The Galleries, Washington.
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