Sunderland boss Dick Advocaat has backed his summer signings to fire the team up the Premier League.
Two points from the opening four games mean Sunderland are currently sitting bottom of the table, and the Black Cats reacted in the closing stages of the window by bringing in Fabio Borini from Liverpool.
Despite the worrying start to the campaign, Advocaat is confident that his new arrivals will play an important role in securing valuable results.
"We now have a squad who can compete with each other and everyone shows during the games that they want to play. That is the advantage compared to last season," the Dutchman told reporters.
Sunderland continue their search for a first league win of the season against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
