Tony Mowbray explains his surprise Sunderland selection and Edouard Michut's absence

Mowbray rested Dan Neil, Amad and Edouard Michut amid a challenging fixture schedule, while also switching to a 4-4-2 shape.

That was in part a tactic to try and expose QPR, who play in a similar system, and it made for some unusual partnerships from a Sunderland perspective.

Jack Clarke went up front, Abdoullah Ba played from the left wing while Luke O'Nien and Alex Pritchard formed a midfield two.

Mowbray admitted that his side lacked their usual fluidity as a result, but was thrilled to get the three points.

"I like the way QPR play, they like to build up and they gave us plenty of problems in the first 20 minutes of both halves," Mowbray said.

"We studied them and we changed our system a little bit because we felt we could hurt them on the transition. They play an expansive game and build up, it's very good when they get it right and probably quite dangerous when they get it wrong.

"I told Neil after the game that I felt the scoreline was harsh - though having said that we could well have scored more. It felt comfortable at the end - but I think they're a good football team who are missing some key players and not getting the breaks.

"We had to make a few changes and leave some key players on the bench because of the fatigue we've got in the squad. We've got another Saturday-Tuesday coming up.

"When Amad comes on the pitch, you can feel the extra quality and extra threat. Dan Neil, Cirkin... they made a difference. We finished really strongly with a more familiar team, just because they understand each other's strengths and weaknesses better and so you get that fluency.

"We talked about coming here and winning here tonight, probably because of the lack of confidence in a team that’s won one in ten or whatever it is. Sometimes, you have to prey on that, yet they didn’t feel like there was a shortage of confidence from them when they got it right. We could prey off the missed pass, nick it and break and threaten their goal, and towards the end we did that better when we made a few changes. And we were resilient at the back. We blocked things."

Mowbray also confirmed that Michut will be available to face Bristol City this weekend.

Michut was a surprise omission from the matchday squad on Tuesday but with Dan Neil and Pierre Ekwah offering sufficient cover on the bench, the head coach decided that he could afford to give the youngster a complete rest amid a demanding schedule.

"We just left him at home to give him a rest," Mowbray said.

"He's coming into a league he's never played in, he's never played three games in a week in his life I don't think.

"I think he's played four games in ten games now. Rather than him doing all the travelling, we just told him to stay, relax, and get ready for Saturday."