Thursday 11 December 2014 15:50, UK
Gus Poyet admits it is difficult to attract the type of players he wants to Sunderland.
The Uruguyan, speaking ahead of the visit of high-flying West Ham on Saturday, acknowledged that geographical issues prevented him from signing the calibre of player he would like to the Stadium of Light.
When you give certain types of players the option of going to London or the north-east in the same conditions, 99 from 100 will choose London
Poyet said: "When you give certain types of players the option of going to London or the north-east in the same conditions, 99 from 100 will choose London and that's the reality.
"We have to be a step ahead - we have to do things better than those clubs in the south or in other countries in a nice place with different weather.
"We need to do something that will convince them to come to the north. On top of that it is even more difficult in January because clubs don't want to lose their best players, so everything needs to come together."
The Black Cats have held Chelsea and Liverpool to scoreless draws recently but were hammered 4-1 by Manchester City at home in between the two draws.
Poyet's men are dangerously near the Premier League drop-zone and the Uruguayan head coach knows his team need to start picking up maximum points.
East Londoners West Ham arrive on Wearside high on confidence, on the back of three straight wins, and lie fourth in the Premier League table.
Poyet told the club's official website: "We knew the challenge of last week and we knew it wouldn’t be easy to play against Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool, so after competing with them and picking up a couple of points the idea is to now go one step ahead and start winning football matches.
“I don’t think it’s going to be easier it is just a different challenge and a different way of playing, so we need to make sure we can cope with the way West Ham United are playing at the moment because they are doing very well.
“We need to think about what we do well and what we do best to win the game and get three points, because we’re in a situation where putting a couple of wins into the table would make the rest of the season easier.”
Poyet made five changes at Anfield and he could once again rotate his squad, explaining that he would select a team focused on containing and defeating Sam Allardyce's Hammers.
He added: “Last week gave me the opportunity to use the players in the right way depending on the games, because when you get a team that is winning you don’t change it but when you’re not you can have an impact or do what you think is needed.
“You can try to search for a solution to help the team to win. I think that the players understand this because they are all competing fairly and professionally with each other to get into the team, while knowing the decisions made are to benefit the team, the club and the result.”
Poyet's son Diego, 19, is a professional at West Ham but the teenager is unlikely to have to face his father's side having only just returned from a loan spell at Huddersfield.
Poyet said: "I don't think there is going to be too much to share before the game we've got that mentality.
"We normally say there are no friends on the pitch, although this is family. It is better this way as there is no misunderstanding if I did say something or he did. It's better to stay quiet."
