KRISTJAAN Speakman insists Sunderland still believe their three permanent summer striker recruits will come good on Wearside - but has acknowledged the importance of the Black Cats being more open about their hopes and expectations for young players moving forward.

Sunderland bolstered their frontline with the permanent signings of Nazariy Rusyn, Hemir and Eliezer Mayenda in the summer but it's been a struggle for the trio, who only have one goal between them. Mason Burstow also arrived on loan from Chelsea and has also found life difficult this term, finally breaking his goal duck with the opener against Stoke City on Saturday.

The struggles of Sunderland's four strikers has led to the Black Cats prioritising the capture of another frontman this month, with the club's hierarchy still pushing to get a deal over the line before tomorrow night's 11pm deadline.

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Regardless of whether Sunderland are successful in their striker pursuit, sporting director Speakman is adamant the club still have long-term faith in Rusyn, Hemir and Mayenda, while the Black Cats remain determined to make a success of Burstow's loan spell.

Speakman concedes, however, that Sunderland need to help young signings and those arriving from overseas by being more open with fans about the club's expectations and willingness to be patient.

"We've got a lot of belief in the players in the group," explained Speakman.

"We've just got to get clarity and maybe we haven't been good enough in giving clarity around what our expectation of the players is. We signed a player around a year or so ago for example, and a lot of the feedback when we went to fan forums was that he hadn't done well enough. Well internally, we thought he'd already played more than we expected initially.

"We've got to understand where they are in the career, where they are now and where we're trying to get them to.

"I understand now that we live in a world where we all want things instantly - that's obviously the ideal if players turn up, integrate and perform immediately.

"Amad came and I don't think anyone would say he was in the team and was a superstar from day one, it took him a little bit of time for him to adapt. Ross Stewart, I think it's fair to say that it was probably around six months into his journey here [he began to play regularly].

"Players aren't robots, you cannot take a human, move them and expect them to perform exactly the same, straight away, in a different environment.

"It's on us to try to create that environment for them and then it's up to them to step up.

"I've got faith in the boys to keep getting better, yeah. What level they can eventually get to will be decided by all those factors. If I had the magic answer to that then it's the Coca Cola secret, isn't it?

"We try to do the best we can with the information we've got, to make the best judgements and selections."

Rusyn staked a claim for a recall to the starting XI after scoring two goals for Sunderland's Under-21s in a 3-1 win over Leeds United on Monday night, but - even if the Black Cats sign a striker before tomorrow's deadline - Burstow is likely to keep his place in the team at Middlesbrough on Sunday on the back of his Stoke goal.

Head coach Michael Beale admitted earlier this month that Hemir could go out on loan if a new striker arrives, but the clock is ticking. Sunderland have no intention of sanctioning a loan move for Mayenda. Even if the former Sochaux frontman doesn't feature much in the second half of the season, coaches would rather the 18-year-old continues his development on their watch. He's likely to play regularly for the Under-21s in the coming months.