Tony Mowbray has praised Jack Clarke’s’miraculous’ development since the first time he saw him play two and a half years ago. Mowbray was the manager of Blackburn Rovers at the time, and he recalls witnessing Clarke play for Tottenham Hotspur U23s against his youthful team, in which the winger had little influence.
Clarke, on the other hand, has gone on leaps and bounds since then, and since joining Sunderland last summer, he has evolved into one of the Championship’s hottest properties, with the Black Cats turning down a £10 million deal from Premier League new boys Burnley over the summer. Clarke scored twice, including one from the penalty spot, in Hillsborough’s 3-0 win against Sheffield Wednesday yesterday night, giving him a seven-goal lead in the division after Dan Ballard opened the scoring.
Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray is a major fan of the 22-year-old and dubbed him ‘unplayable’ following his performance in South Yorkshire, but he also understands the need of keeping Clarke grounded. “He’s doing fine,” Mowbray said, smiling.
“I don’t want to say he’s flying, I need to keep his feet on the ground and keep him working hard! He’s an amazing footballer, he’s really positive, really confident at the moment.
“When I think back to when I was manager of Blackburn Rovers two and a half years ago and Jack Clarke was playing for Tottenham U23s and didn’t get a kick against our young team, something miraculous has happened to Jack and he is now playing with confidence and belief in himself.” He may be unplayable at times because you don’t know if he’s going down the outside or cutting inside to bend it in like he did for the opening goal.
“He scored the penalty as well, but he was a constant threat and has been all season to every team.”
Sunderland’s win on Wednesday moved them up to fourth in the table, at least until the rest of the Championship games take place over the weekend. The Black Cats return to action on Wednesday, hosting Watford at the Stadium of Light.
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