ROKER ROUNDUP: “At Sunderland we achieved excellent results” says Roberto De Fanti’s chief scout

Morgan praises Ross

Sunderland were linked with Celtic’s Lewis Morgan in the summer after the winger starred for St Mirren under Jack Ross.

Morgan’s Celtic faced his old club last night and speaking before the game to the club’s official website, the player was full of praise for both his old manager and Sunderland:

I was happy for my old gaffer, Jack Ross, in that he got his well-deserved move. Sunderland’s a massive club and I’m sure he’ll get things going in the right direction there.

I loved my time playing under him and I’m sure the boys at St Mirren were hoping he’d stay but you can’t stand in his way. He’s being doing well down there and it’s good to see.

Morgan also spoke about what went wrong with St Mirren this season and attributed their struggles to Alan Stubbs ripping up Ross’ promotion winning side:

The last manager came in and changed quite a lot. I suppose that’s fair enough as different managers have different philosophies, but it didn’t seem to work out for them.

They’re going to be looking for a reaction now so they’ll be taking that up a notch, and when you play a club like Celtic opponents find another level.

They have a great support and it is a great club. Hopefully they do well this year but you have to produce things on the pitch to get the fans behind you. That’s something the boys at St Mirren will try to do in order to get that good backing they had last year.

Photo by Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images

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Angeleri discusses head injury

Marcos Angeleri only signed for Uruguayan club Nacional last month but the 35-year-old has already hit the headline thanks to a nasty clash of heads in a game against Racing.

The former Sunderland defender went up for a header but was caught by his team-mate Santiago Romero and suffered skull trauma, loss of consciousness and a fracture of his nasal septum.

Speaking about the incident Angeleri says he has no recollection of it happening:

Of the shock, the blow, the medical attention and the transfer to the clinic, I do not remember anything.

Just in the hospital I took a little conscience while doing some studies. There is a part that I skipped and I do not remember much. That feeling of fear that sometimes can be left behind did not remain because I really do not have much record of what happened.

Angeleri went on to give his thanks to the people who cared for him and his team-mates who came to visit him in hospital:

The scare had already happened when any serious problem due to the blow to the head was ruled out.

What I do have is gratitude to all the people who cared for me. My colleagues worried a lot and after the game they went to the clinic to see me, they were there and they asked if I needed anything from them.

He is hoping to return to training next week but will have to wear a mask to protect his injuries.

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Angeloni calls Sunderland role a great success

Former Sunderland chief scout Valentino Angeloni is now the sporting director of Serie B side Venezia but he has been reminiscing about his previous roles with TuttoMercatoWeb.

When asked which of his many previous roles he had the most attachment to, Angeloni chose Udinese and Atalanta but says his position with Sunderland was a life choice where he achieved excellent results:

Where I learned a lot was in Udinese: four years, Champions runners-up, an incredible job thanks to the Chairman Pozzo. Inter is a great club, Fiorentina despite the difficulties that have been there.

At Sunderland we achieved excellent results and it had also been a choice of life. But if I had to indicate the most beautiful stages, well ... in Atalanta I found the same feelings of Udinese: I would say that they have been, until now, the two most significant experiences.

Angeloni was Sunderland’s chief scout for a year. Appointed by Roberto De Fanti, the Italians brought Valentin Roberge, Modibo Diakite, Emanuele Giaccherini, Cabral and Jozy Altidore to the club under the managerial reign of Paolo Di Canio.

Although De Fanti and Di Canio didn’t last long in the 2013-14 season, Angeloni lasted until shortly after the Capital One Cup final defeat by Manchester City.

The Italians were replaced by Lee Congerton, out of the frying pan...