Friday 12 September 2014 16:00, UK
Sunderland head coach Gus Poyet is confident Italy international Emanuele Giaccherini will shine this season.
Poyet inherited the midfielder, who was signed for the club by Paolo di Canio, and Giaccherini failed to impress him last season as he found himself a squad player.
But far from sulk and look for a way out of Wearside, Giaccherini returned in the summer and has been desperately trying to win back his place.
Poyet said: "I see him as a new player, a totally new player. It was difficult for him to play with us last year for different reasons, not only because of him, me picking the team in a certain way, not finding that position for him in the team regularly.
"He did well for a period in November, December when he was playing wide, but he didn't score and we needed something else, and it didn't work.
"Then he came back in pre-season in an incredible way - he was outstanding, one of the top three players in everything. He was playing well, he was pushing for a start, and he got injured.
"Then he came back sooner than expected. He has played two 90 minutes with Italy, which is very difficult - only 11 players can start for Italy, a great national team, and he is one of them, which is fantastic.
"The idea is to use him and to make sure that if he picks himself, that will be to the benefit of the team. I am very happy with Giaccherini, he looks like a totally new player."
Poyet signed nine new faces in the summer and he admits they are a work in progress.
But he insists there is nothing complicated about the bottom line.
He said: "It's quite simple: the goalkeeper needs to make saves and if he saves every ball, we don't concede; and the striker, if he puts the ball in the net, we are going to win plenty of games.
It's quite simple: the goalkeeper needs to make saves and if he saves every ball, we don't concede; and the striker, if he puts the ball in the net, we are going to win plenty of games.
"Those two roles are clear. They are unfair, sometimes - the goalkeeper saves every single ball, but makes one mistake and it's a bad one, and the striker, the opposite - but it's simple.
"The rest, they have got different responsibilities. It's a great challenge for the offensive players at this club to become the top scorer, the one who is going to score double figures and is going to be the important one week in, week out."
Poyet's work to date will be put to the test on Saturday when former club Tottenham arrive at the Stadium of Light for a game the South American knows will test his players to the full.
He said: "Last year, we were destroyed by Spurs, especially away. Even at home, it was one of my darkest days here, I didn't like it at all, the way we played against Spurs in the second half at the Stadium of Light.
"They have got quality, they are a very interesting team. With a new manager, they are going to make it difficult and we need to be spot-on, we need to be good.
"Sometimes, I say to the players, 'Okay is not enough, you need to be better than okay', and this is a game where we need to be better."
