SUNDERLAND will take their time with Romaine Mundle and ease the winger into Championship life after the former Tottenham youngster's arrival on Wearside late in the January window.

Mundle offered an "exciting" glimpse of what the Black Cats can expect in his first outing in red and white on Monday night.

The former Tottenham winger played an hour for Sunderland's Under-21s in the Premier League Cup win over Bristol City, with Hemir staking his first team claim by scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win.

Both Mundle and Hemir were unused substitutes in Sunday's 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough, but head coach Michael Beale felt the Under-21s game 24 hours later was the perfect opportunity to get some crucial match minutes under their belt.

Hemir has only played 18 minutes of Championship action and has only made two substitute appearances since the start of November. He looks set to remain on the fringes of the first team so is expected to feature heavily for the Under-21s between now and the end of the season.

Mundle, on the other hand, hardly played for Standard Liege in the first half of the campaign, so Sunderland's coaching team are aware of the importance of working on the 20-year-old's sharpness before he's thrown into Championship battle.

The plan on Monday was always for Mundle to only play an hour, and while the winger is expected to again be involved in the squad when the first team host Plymouth on Saturday, the Black Cats won't rush the youngster.

"I think the sports scientists will look at Romaine’s load before he’s come here," explained John Hewitson, assistant boss for Sunderland's Under-21s.

"It’s just a case of they’ll track what he’s done. His plan was to play 60 minutes just to get him up to speed and then progress him from there."

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Monday night was the first time Hewitson had seen Sunderland's deadline day signing in action - and he was impressed.

"I haven’t seen him in training but he showed glimpses and was exciting," he said.

"He looks quick, he looks direct, he looks quite jinky. I’m looking forward to seeing more of him really."

Mundle came close to marking his first appearance in red and white with a goal when he had a shot cleared off the line.

Hemir's matchwinner will be a big boost for the 20-year-old, who has endured a tough first season on Wearside and hasn't started a league game for the Black Cats since the opening weekend defeat to Ipswich.

Sunderland were open to allowing Hemir to go out on loan in the last week of the window but in the end it was Eiezer Mayenda who got a move, joining Hibs until the end of the season.

The 18-year-old was an unused substitute for the Scottish side at the weekend but his Sunderland teammate Nectar Triantis played the full 90 minutes in what turned out to be a tough debut as Nick Montgomery's side went down 3-0 at home to St Mirren.

Sunderland's recruitment and coaching team are hoping both summer signings, who have struggled for game-time on Wearside, benefit from their spell north of the border.

“I just want to play games," said Mayenda of the loan.

"I need to play and it’s a good opportunity for me to play for this amazing team.

“At Sunderland I felt good; it’s a good, big team. I have a lot of friends there and the guys were amazing.

“The Championship was different, and it was a tough league. I was happy there, but I am young, so I need to and want to play. I love Sunderland, it’s a good team, good city and I felt good.”