TONY MOWBRAY has admitted he took off Dan Neil and Patrick Roberts during Sunderland’s FA Cup replay defeat to Fulham because he did not want to risk them ahead of this weekend’s league game with Reading.

Neil and Roberts were both withdrawn in the 64th minute at the Stadium of Light, shortly after Andreas Pereira scored to double Fulham’s lead.

Sunderland rallied impressively in the second half, scoring through Jack Clarke and Jewison Bennette, but were ultimately knocked out of the cup as they suffered a 3-2 defeat.

Mowbray admits he had to strike a balance between trying to get his side back into the game and protecting some of his key players with a number of injuries having reduced the size of his first-team squad.

The Black Cats boss said: “We've got to get through these last 17 league games with a pretty thin squad, and there will be days where people have to play out of position.

“That was the case for us tonight, and then we had to bring Dan Neil off because if he gets injured, who plays holding midfield? We needed to look after him and Patrick Roberts, because they're really important players for us.”

Neil found himself up against Tom Cairney for most of the evening, and while the Fulham midfielder finished the evening as the Man of the Match, Mowbray was delighted with his own player’s performance given the quality of the opponent he was tasked with taking on.

He said: “Fulham are a wonderful team to watch. I love the way they play and how brave they are. Tom Cairney can’t get in their Premier League starting team, yet what a footballer.

“It was a great game for Dan Neil. He’s playing someone with power, quality, bravery and a great left foot – what a footballer. What a challenge for a 20-year-old kid who’s got to test himself. I think Dan is going to have a lot of years in the Premier League, hopefully with Sunderland.”