JACK ROSS claims to have one eye on the longer term even though the main aim of his recruitment drive is to build a Sunderland team capable of winning League One next season.

The new Black Cats boss has brought in six new players since agreeing to take on the challenge of reviving the club’s fortunes following Stewart Donald’s successful takeover.

He is also working away on letting players leave, particularly the likes of Didier Ndong, Lamine Kone, Wahbi Khazri and Papy Djilobodji who have not been with the rest of the squad in Portugal.

But this week’s trip to the Iberian sunshine is based on allowing the players to bond as much as it is to improve fitness levels during a summer of much change on Wearside.

Since Alim Ozturk became Ross’ first signing, Sunderland have since added Jon McLaughlin, Tom Flanagan, Reece James, Dylan McGeouch and Chris Maguire to their ranks.

Only Maguire and McLaughlin are aged over 28 so far of those he has brought in, but Ross insists there is more to his plan than just buying for the future.

“I think it’s probably a mixture of all of those elements,” said Ross. “At the moment, we have players here who have played first-team football and experienced it, but still have potential to fill, so those are ones that fit into the bracket of thinking they can grow with you.

“Then there are others that we have brought in, or are trying to bring in, that we believe will get better when they’re here too. If they improve and the club progresses, hopefully they’ll play a part in that.

“Then there are those that are a means to an end at that time. There’s a mixture of all of those elements to bring together. I commented in my previous job that I had built a squad to win a Championship up in Scotland, not one to be progressive in the Premiership.

“At the moment, it’s about building a squad to be successful in League One, not to be progressive in the Championship, because we’re not there at the moment and there are no guarantees we’ll get there unless we put something together that’s good and fits, and means we can go and deal with the challenges in this league.

“It’s a mixture of all those elements, and that’s the key aspect, to get that right because I’m sure people could agree that you could get a squad that might arguably do well in the Championship, but that might not win League One just because of the different challenges in that league.”

One player unlikely to be involved in League One is Ndong. He has not turned up for training in Portugal and Sunderland are desperate to grant him his wish to leave.

The 24-year-old has been a player Sunderland have looked to move on for some time but they have struggled to find a taker for the fee he has commanded and his weekly wage.

Those factors looked to have been made easier after he suffered a 40 per cent pay cut following relegation, particularly when it looked like he could head for Watford permanently before his loan proved unsuccessful.

But he has since seen a proposed £6.6m move to Torino break down over personal terms, even though Fiorentina and Atalanta are still trying to strike a deal to take him to Serie A.

Sunderland and Darlington have confirmed that their friendly next week has been brought forward because of England's progress in the World Cup.

What would be Sunderland's first pre-season game of the summer has had to be moved because if England beat Sweden on Saturday they will face either Croatia or Russia in the semi-final next Wednesday – the night the Black Cats were due to face the Quakers.

Now, though, that game will take place on Tuesday, July 10 at 7.30pm. Tickets already purchased will be valid for the new date and those unable to attend are entitled to a refund.

England have reached the quarter-finals after beating Colombia on penalties on Tuesday night.

Jordan Pickford, the former Sunderland goalkeeper who spent time on loan at Darlington, made a crucial spot-kick save to help his country through.