Sunderland manager Gus Poyet has claimed that Adam Johnson and Jack Rodwell will accept being dropped from the team in a professional manner.

The Black Cats boss sprung a surprise over the weekend by relegating the midfield pair to the bench for the 3-1 victory over Stoke City on Saturday.

Poyet is confident that Johnson and Rodwell will respond to their omissions in the right manner.

"I think Jonno has been unlucky really," Poyet told the Sunderland Echo. "He has been giving us so much for long periods and I've been dropping him in the best moments of the game – the last 20 when everyone is tired.

"On Saturday, I was thinking he's going to be fresh for that period, but we didn't have the ball. He had to run and run and run! But they know their role, it's clear.

"I just want them to be professional – not be happy, but accept my decision because that's what I'm here for. We were asking Jack certain things that he was doing well. But we needed something different on Saturday, controlling things a little bit more."

Sunderland have moved up to 13th in the Premier League table with the victory.