TONY MOWBRAY will be instructing his Sunderland players to keep their feet on the ground despite yesterday’s Wear-Tees derby win over Middlesbrough having lifted the Black Cats to within a point of the play-off positions.

Sunderland claimed a deserved 2-0 success at the Stadium of Light as second-half goals from Ross Stewart and Amad Diallo saw off their regional rivals.

Middlesbrough’s task was undoubtedly made much harder when Dael Fry was sent off for a foul on Stewart in the incident that preceded Sunderland’s opening goal, but the Black Cats were the better side throughout as they inflicted only Boro’s third league defeat under Michael Carrick.

Mowbray was delighted with the skill and composure displayed by his young side, but is still refusing to get carried away despite his side’s proximity to the top six.

“I like this group of players,” said the Sunderland boss. “They’re young players who work really hard and are adapting really well to this division.

“We have to grow it bit by bit, but every time someone like Edouard Michut gets on the pitch, he's getting more belief. We're giving them an opportunity to grow, and somewhere down the line, they will start to affect it regularly like Amad is doing.

“We have to keep competing and, as we keep building, our aspirations will get higher. But, for now, we just want to compete and keep working hard.”

Mowbray’s second game in charge of the Black Cats saw Sunderland suffer a 1-0 defeat at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium in September.

Given his strong links with the Teessiders, that defeat will have stung, but the former Boro manager and skipper is adamant he did not take any special satisfaction from extracting revenge yesterday lunchtime.

“For me, it’s just about making sure this team understands that they can compete in the league,” said Mowbray. “There’s not an expectation that we have to get in top six, I just want them to focus on their individual performances each week.

“I thought we were really good in spells. Middlesbrough are a good team with good players, so we have to be satisfied that we’ve beaten a really good football team.”

Carrick admitted his side were below-par in the first half, but was furious at the penalty and red card decision that he felt cost Boro.

“A defeat hurts,” said the Boro boss. “We don't like getting beat, we don't come here to get beat. We can't just brush it under the carpet because we haven't got the result we wanted.

“I can't fault the players, the effort was there. Sometimes, it just doesn't click the way you want it to. At the same point, it wasn't terrible.

“The boys have set such high standards, we just weren't quite at our best. It could have gone both ways but the decision has a huge impact on the way the game goes.”

Report, reaction and ratings - Pages 46-47