TONY Mowbray knows only too well what a fully fit and firing Bradley Dack is capable of - as does one Lancashire jeweller.

Back when Dack was in unstoppable form for Blackburn - with Mowbray his boss at the time - Rovers' Man of the Match award had a local sponsor.

"You used to get a watch when you got Man of the Match off a local jeweller and Dack must have had 100 of them," laughs Mowbray.

"He was getting Man of the Match every single week. It was embarrassing at times!

"There's been spells in his career where he'd walk into any team."

At the minute, that's not the case for Dack at Sunderland. And yet Mowbray always knew time, patience and understanding would be required with the 29-year-old after he joined the Black Cats in the summer.

Dack's career momentum was halted by two serious knee injuries at Blackburn. The most recent was two years ago but Mowbray - who knows Dack better than anyone in the game - knew the playmaker would still have to be closely monitored and managed this season. Dack started four successive games earlier in the campaign but then missed a month with a thigh problem.

He returned to action at the end of October and although his only taste of action since early September has been two cameo appearances from the bench, Mowbray is seeing promising signs.

Dack got a good run-out during the international break, playing in a 3-0 friendly win over Blackpool.

Mowbray says: "He's starting to get there, I think. We've had lots of conversations about that, whether it's putting him on the pitch and trying to get him minutes. But the minutes he got in the last couple of first team games, there wasn't a big influence on the game. We've worked really hard in training with him, he played the other day in the game out here against Blackpool. He's getting there.

"He understands it's hard work, there are no shortcuts. We're not a club who are waiting for him, really. He has to do it in training every day. He has an amazing attitude. I talk about good people, good human beings. He's an amazing guy who wants to help the young players, who works really hard in training.

"He's had some injuries, it's really tough for him. I can see the mental battles to keep driving, keep running, keep pushing.

"A scenario, you're playing a game in training, you're building up and you've had some touches, you get it round the box then some young player makes a stupid decision, gives it away and you have to run back 70 yards. You can see sometimes the experienced players shake their head, throw their arms in the air and walk back, and yet Dacky is giving everything he's got.

"He's engaged in it, he's trying to get up to the level he knows he has to get up to to get into this team."

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Dack's desire and talent can only benefit Sunderland going forward, says Mowbray, particularly in the second half of the season when games are coming thick and fast and the head coach will be forced into changes to rest tired legs.

"It's good for us that there's such competition," said Mowbray.

"But my point is, Dack's personality is he knows he has to work really hard to get into this team. He will become an option as the season deepens and he will impact the team and hopefully score some goals and win matches."