Sunderland boss Jack Ross praises Tottenham loanee Sterling after goal at Accrington

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Tottenham’s Kazaiah Sterling is a hugely promising young striker but his loan spell with Sunderland has not taken off since his move to the north east in January.

But he got his first goal for the Black Cats, who are chasing promotion out of League One at the first time of asking, in a comprehensive 3-0 away win over Accrington Stanley last night.

Manager Jack Ross was thrilled for the young starlet, and said: “He has taken a while to adjust in terms of how we train and what we do, it is a big jump to be in the first team environment.

“It has been difficult with the Checkatrade ineligibility, a bit stop start for him but this was a chance to be on the park and I had a feeling he would score given how stretched the game was. It was a good finish from Kaz, a big moment for him.”

Young players need games, but they can be tough to come by when teams are going for an objective as important as promotion is to Sunderland.

Ross’ duty is to his club, not to developing Sterling, and that has meant he has been unable to give the promising striker enough time out on the pitch.

As the crunch stage of the season is upon us, the only way for Sterling to put himself in contention is by scoring goals with regularity.