SUNDERLAND manager Alex Neil has issued a challenge to the fringe players in his squad after this week’s exit from the Carabao Cup.

Neil made eleven changes for the 2-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on Wednesday in a game where some players got their first minutes of the season.

With no other cup games to play until January, fringe players will have to force their way into the manager’s thinking through other routes if they seek regular game time in the league with the Black Cats.

In the absence of first-team minutes, players can play with the Under-23’s squad to maintain their fitness but the manager has challenged them to impress in training.

Neil said: “I’m a big believer in that if the lads have not got regular game time or minutes and when we’ve got particularly home games for the Under-21’s then they need to drop down and get minutes. But equally, they need to try and work their way into the starting eleven. How they do that is by impacting games.

“I think Elliot Embleton is a prime example. Elliot came on last season and impacted games as a substitute probably two, three or four times and then worked his way into the starting eleven because of how much he was impacting games for us. He then scores a goal for us at Wembley.

“The onus is on those lads to show us where they are and what they can do.”

Neil has shown during his tenancy as Sunderland manager that he is not afraid to switch his team up ahead of games if he feels it is the necessary changes to make which is something the fringe players can take encouragement from.

The Sunderland boss continued: “What I will say is it’s not as plain sailing and as easy as the fact that there is somebody ahead of them because they are performing better.

“There is a change of shape that comes into consideration because some lads are unfortunate in the fact that we are playing in a different manner at the moment that doesn’t suit them. There is a lot of different dynamics that come into that.”

Sunderland return to league action looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the season this afternoon when they welcome Queens Park Rangers to the Stadium of Light.