JACK ROSS has drawn parallels with his start as Sunderland manager to the early days of the Peter Reid era on Wearside after the two spent time together at the Stadium of Light last weekend.

Reid, who led the Black Cats to successive seventh place finishes in the Premier League after guiding them through a period of transition and revival in the mid-90s, was a visitor when Wycombe gave Ross’ side a scare last weekend.

Sunderland could hit top spot by defeating Walsall this afternoon, although their eight-match winning run came to an end in front of Reid – the last manager to have secured nine wins in a row for the club.

But Ross hasn’t lost too much sleep over that result, after his team once again showed the sort of resilience to avoid defeat after falling behind, just like they have so often this season.

Such performances have brought the best out of Sunderland’s fans too, which has helped Ross realise the supporters demand a certain way of playing – something Reid also tuned into when he was in charge

“I was lucky last week that I was speaking with Peter Reid and Bobby Saxton, I always enjoy it when people come into see me. It was Mick McCarthy before the Sheffield Wednesday game,” said Ross.

“Peter was great because we were speaking about the Charlton game on the opening day, and he said his first game at Roker Park was against Sheffield United. They were top of the league, Craig Russell, our masseur, scored the winner when Peter brought him on as a sub.

“He said they weren’t very good that day but sometimes you have those little moments that can help you. Undoubtedly that game against Charlton was important, not just for the three points but for setting the tone for this is what we are. We are a team who are prepared to try to pull ourselves back from a goal down and keep going for 90-plus minutes.

“I love speaking to people about football anyway. I’m very much aware that Peter set a standard at the club for what he’s achieved and he was very good, very complimentary and when I spoke about understanding the club he obviously knows that because it very much got under his skin when he got here.

“I grew up watching football when Sunderland were still at Roker Park, it’s dead easy for me to visualise games there because I watched games on TV from that stadium.

“I know what he achieved at the club and how he is acclaimed for that. If I can replicate his success I will be delighted because he was a very successful manager at this club.”

To do that Ross thinks he needs to get his team playing with a certain style, or passion. There have been too many times in previous seasons when the club has got carried away with spending on players not particularly suited to a club by the North Sea in the North-East.

The Sunderland manager said: “For me recently there has been, I wouldn’t say a lightbulb moment, but I have started to understand what this club is about. I have started to build a Sunderland team rather than my team.

“That’s how I have started to look at it. I feel as if when I leave here, I want to leave a squad that’s a Sunderland squad rather than my squad. I would love to say I am really clever and I thought that from the first day I came in, but I have grown to realise it over the last few months.

“I am always looking at what I have done and whether I could have done anything better. I don’t think it’s true of every club but there are clubs around England and Scotland, who have certain identities. I think this is one.

“People said it to me when I first came into the job but I understand that now. It does need a certain type of player and it should always be a certain type of team. A lot of managers speak about their own philosophies but it’s different here.

“I might work at another club in the future where it isn’t like this and doesn’t have that strong identity. We have seen that in terms of how responsive the fans have been.

“There is at least the foundations of something which reflects what they see as a Sunderland team.”