JACK ROSS admits Sunderland’s squad depth was the key to their 2-0 win at Shrewsbury Town, and is hoping the scale of the club’s playing resources will help fuel a successful promotion push this season.

The Black Cats climbed to third position in the League One table as they recorded their fourth away win of the campaign, and with the majority of their rivals in the top six stuttering, Ross’ side are just a point off the automatic promotion places ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Doncaster Rovers.

They struggled for most of the opening hour at Shrewsbury’s Montgomery Waters Meadow, but with his initial game plan not working, Ross was able to change things via the bench.

Within five minutes of replacing Josh Maja, Lynden Gooch was swinging over the cross that led to Omar Beckles prodding the ball into his own net. Gooch turned provider again with six minutes left, playing in fellow substitute Luke O’Nien for the goal that doubled Sunderland’s lead.

“The game’s changed,” said Ross. “It’s squads that win you leagues. I speak about it a lot, but you need the evidence to back it up. It wasn’t just the players who came on and made an obvious contribution towards winning the game that were important - the guys who came off the pitch still made a contribution because they helped us get to 0-0 after 55, 60 minutes away from home.

“The reaction (when players haven’t been starting) has always been good, and it goes back to the communication with them to make sure we keep them abreast of where they’re at.

“George (Honeyman), Lynden and Luke - I never had any doubts about any of them because they’re all terrific professionals. We’ve got a lot of them in the squad, and that’s healthy as well.”

While Ross’ changes transformed things in terms of Sunderland’s attacking, it was the quality of the Black Cats’ defending that laid the foundations for Saturday’s win.

Shrewsbury dominated possession in the first half, but the vast majority of their attacks foundered in the face of some resolute defending from Jack Baldwin and Tom Flanagan.

Baldwin has caught the eye on a number of occasions since making a summer move from Peterborough United, but Flanagan has been forced to bide his time since picking up an injury in pre-season.

Glenn Loovens’ absence has created a gap at the heart of the back four, and Flanagan has seized his chance with both hands, allying some committed and resolute defending to a calm sense of authority when in possession of the ball.

“The centre-halves are interesting ones because I don’t think either of them are traditional League One centre-halves,” said Ross. “We have to maximise what they’re good at and improve the areas where they have weaknesses.

“The two of them are good footballers and have a good understanding of the game. They’re both young as well, so I’ve accepted them making mistakes here and there because I believe they’ll keep improving and they’ve got a real hunger to get better.

“With Tom, it’s been an adjustment because a lot of the time he’s played as a central defender it was in a back three. For me as a manager, and for the staff, when you’ve got players who have an appetite to get better and improve, it makes your job easier.”

Flanagan and Baldwin will resume their defensive partnership at Doncaster’s Keepmoat Stadium tomorrow, but Ross could opt to rest Josh Maja after the striker left the field at the weekend complaining of an ankle problem.