Tony Mowbray has suggested it was 'the right time' to take Mason Burstow out of the firing line, with Nazariy Rusyn handed his first Sunderland start at the weekend against Norwich City. On-loan Chelsea striker Burstow had become Mowbray's first-choice attacking option after starting the previous seven games but has yet to get off the mark for the Black Cats.

In the build-up to the weekend 3-1 win against Norwich, Mowbray said Burstow was not outwardly showing signs that his wait for a goal was weighing heavily upon him, but added that it would certainly have been on his mind. The Sunderland boss said he would know when the time was right to give the 20-year-old a break, and he made the decision to do that against Norwich when Ukrainian Rusyn replaced Burstow in the what was the only change to the starting XI that had begun against Leicester City four days earlier.

Asked last week whether the pressure of Burstow's goalless run was beginning to take its toll, Mowbray said: "He's not suggesting that by his personality around the building and on the training ground. But I'm sure he is [feeling the pressure], I'me sure every striker who goes a few games without a goal feels that way.

"Is he feeling it? He should be feeling it. He's only a young kid of course, but we'll know the right time to take him out of the firing line and give somebody else an opportunity."

Burstow was one of four strikers to arrive on Wearside over the summer, along with Rusyn, Luis Hemir, and Eliezer Mayenda, all of whom were at various different stages of readiness when they joined the club. Rusyn had made a handful of substitute outings before his start against Norwich, while Portuguese Hemir had made one start and went on to make his tenth substitute appearance against the Canaries, but Mayenda has yet to feature as he recovers from a hamstring injury he suffered almost immediately after signing for the club.

"The other strikers are at different levels of readiness," said Mowbray. "Stick the next one in, see how he does, how many games are we giving him? Stick the next one in and let's see how he goes. We have to assess, moving forward, whether we think we have players who are good enough to score goals in the Championship in our team. They are going to be given opportunities, and when the opportunity comes, let's see if they score."

Rusyn did not open his account for Sunderland against Norwich but looked sharp in his 70-minute outing, although it remains to be seen if he has done enough to keep his place when the Black Cats head to Swansea City this weekend.