Sunderland boss Steve Bruce rates the current squad the best he's worked with.
Sunderland's start to the season has been inconsistent but Bruce maintains that he has every faith in those players at his disposal to take the club to new heights.
"This is easily the best squad I've had since I've been here," he said in The Journal. "They're a delightful bunch to work with. We've got good competition for places.
"We have a group which hopefully we can keep hold of and have some stability over the next two to three years, which will be vital."