Watson the 'gift' that keeps on giving

Tommy Watson was reportedly a target for Premier League club Brighton in the summer window

Sunderland winger Tom Watson was described as a "well-designed gift" by his boss after scoring his first two goals for the Championship high fliers to help beat Stoke City on storm-hit Wearside.

Watson drilled a low shot for his side's seventh-minute equaliser and got a deflected 86th-minute winner to keep fourth-placed Sunderland within two points of leaders Leeds - and earn a first victory in seven matches.

Having made his first Championship start for Sunderland only in November, 18-year-old Watson has quickly established himself in the absence of the injured Romaine Mundle.

And, having also been denied both by the post and Stoke keeper Viktor Johanssson, on another day he might even have had a hat-trick.

"Players need time to adapt," said Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris. "But, so far, Tommy has developed very fast.

"Now he will face the difficulties every player has to face, such as consistency and needing to defend as well. There are many things to develop.

"It was an interesting game for him. When you have a winger with the ability to run inside and outside and cross, it's a gift for a coach and a team.

"He works well. The system is well designed for him. We can use him very quickly and play to his main strengths.

"He's powerful, he can dribble, he can move inside and outside and he scored. He's very strong, a very good winger in this league."

Sunderland now face another home game, against Bristol City on Tuesday, and Le Bris hopes for a bit more kindness from the elements.

"With the weather, it was difficult," he said. "But we deserved to win.

"We had many chances to score and we had to wait until the end. But we didn't give up and this was the most important thing."