TONY MOWBRAY admits he agonised about the decision to leave Patrick Roberts out of his starting line-up at West Brom on Sunday – but the subsequent positive result more than justified the Sunderland manager’s decision to beef up his midfield.

Mowbray has repeatedly enthused about Roberts’ talents this season, and concedes he could not believe his predecessor, Alex Neil, was leaving the forward out of his team.

He found himself in exactly the same position at the weekend, however, with Roberts finding himself on the bench at the Hawthorns despite Sunderland’s substantial injury list.

Instead, of naming Roberts in his line-up, Mowbray selected Abdoullah Ba in the starting XI, and with West Brom’s physicality one of their key assets, the Black Cats boss also opted for Pierre Ekwah ahead of Edouard Michut at the heart of midfield.

The ploy worked a treat, with Sunderland shaking off the disappointment of conceding a controversial penalty to come from behind and claim the 2-1 win that has lifted them into the play-off positions ahead of this evening’s action, which sees eighth-placed Blackburn Rovers play their game in hand against already-promoted Burnley.

“It was a tough choice for me (ahead of the West Brom game),” admitted Mowbray. “I've left Patrick Roberts out even though I'm always eulogising about him.

“Sometimes, I go to bed at night and think, 'How have I picked a team without Patrick Roberts in it, it’s madness'. Yet we felt as if we needed Abdoullah Ba’s legs and athleticism, and we wanted a bit of physicality so we went with Pierre Ekwah ahead of Edouard Michut.

“What I'm always telling them is that just because you're on the bench for this one, we still love you and we're all in it together. Next week, it will be someone else who sits out - keep training hard and keep going and let's see where it takes us.”

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Mowbray is experienced enough to know that a ‘horses for courses’ approach is essential in the Championship, although that does not mean he will be abandoning his core footballing beliefs as he looks to guide Sunderland back to the Premier League.

Throughout his managerial career, Mowbray has been hailed as a manager who likes his side to play attractive, attacking football, and whatever happens in the final two matches of the season, most Sunderland supporters would readily admit they have thoroughly enjoyed watching their side perform this season.

There will be times when a slightly more pragmatic approach is required, but with Mowbray in charge, some core footballing principles are a given.

“Someone said in the tunnel to me that the football is still good,” said the Sunderland boss, who counts last weekend’s opponents, West Brom, as one of his former clubs. “Listen, I've never changed in terms of my beliefs. My first understanding of football was the 1970 World Cup, watching hazy pictures from Mexico of that Brazil team.

“I've always loved attacking, passing football and that's what I preach. If you preach the right habits to young footballers, generally they get it and take it on the pitch.

“You obviously need centre-halves who can head it away and centre-forwards who can bang it in the net, but this is a good football team with individual talent.”