Kirchhoff: Fans have given us a lift

Jan Kirchhoff says morale at Sunderland has been boosted after 7,000 supporters packed the stands at the Stadium of Light to watch an open training session.

Kirchhoff has missed the last 10 weeks with a knee injury but was greeted by thousands of Black Cats fans on his return to first-team training ahead of Saturday's match at Everton.

“It was a great feeling to get back onto the pitch and an even better feeling to do it in front of an incredible atmosphere,” the midfielder told safc.com. “It’s so nice that so many fans found their way to the Stadium of Light to watch us train and give us a real lift." 

See: Kirchhoff: Why I didn't go to New York