GUS POYET has backed Ricardo Alvarez to be a big success in the Premier League, but admits he subjected the Sunderland winger to a baptism of fire in last weekend’s draw with Tottenham.

Alvarez made his Black Cats debut a fortnight after joining the club on a season-long loan from Inter Milan, with the speed and intensity of the English game appearing the throw the 26-year-old off his stride.

Given the frantic nature of the opening stages of last weekend’s game, which saw both teams find the back of the net in the first four minutes, Poyet accepts it was difficult for Alvarez to find his feet.

But while tomorrow’s trip to Burnley will to expose the winger to the more physical side of English football if he is selected, the Sunderland head coach is confident his deadline-day signing possesses the skills and mentality required to make a success of his move to the North-East.

“We had a talk with him after the game, and if we had known the game was going to be like it was we probably wouldn’t have played him from the beginning,” said Poyet. “He might have had more of an impact at the end, but we didn’t know how the game would be and he was desperate to play.

“We thought it was a good opportunity for him to play at home to a top team. He knows how things are going to be week in, week out now.

“He understands the quality and pace and intensity of the Premier League. It was a great test for him. He is only going to get better from here because now he is prepared for it.”

Poyet must decide whether to stick with Alvarez on the left-hand side at Turf Moor, with Emmanuele Giaccherini the most likely candidate to replace him if the Sunderland boss opts to shuffle his pack. The Italian made an eye-catching substitute appearance against Spurs, and is pushing hard for his first start of the season.

With Connor Wickham expected to retain his position as a lone striker, Poyet could opt to start with either Steven Fletcher or Jozy Altidore in a wide position, although neither striker would appear to be particularly well suited to a midfield role.

“Connor did so well the other day that my idea now is to try and play him in the middle,” said the Black Cats boss. “So the question is, ‘Can Fletch or Jozy adapt to being the second striker? Or will they have to play a bit wider?’

“I am not so sure. I think the one of the three who adapted best (to being out wide) was Connor, but it depends what is needed in the game.”

Fletcher will be particularly desperate to start, having spent a season with Burnley before moving on to Wolves and then Wearside.

The Scotland international was dropped from the squad entirely last weekend, but his subsequent reaction on the training ground has pleased his head coach.

“Of course he is not happy about not being on the bench last week,” said Poyet. “He wants to be part of it, but that is good for me. Every single game is important and all the time I just try to think about the next one.”

Sunderland’s previous game saw them come from behind to claim a point for the third time in four matches this season, a record that suggests there is a strong sense of spirit within the camp.

Poyet is pleased to see his players’ leadership qualities coming to the fore, and sees similarities between the current Sunderland squad and some of the successful Chelsea and Tottenham teams he was part of as a player.

“I was very lucky as a player that, throughout my career, I was in teams that had strong characters in the dressing room,” he said. “It meant as a group of players, we wouldn’t accept anyone in the team taking it easy.

“We didn’t need a manager. It was all down to us. We self-policed it. We didn’t accept anyone not training hard because, on a Saturday, you would be alongside them on the pitch. We weren’t prepared to play any game with one less because he hadn’t been training hard enough.

“That is contagious. If everybody is training well, it is very strange for one player to train badly, two or three days in a row. If that happens, you are out. He puts himself out of the team.”