Sam Allardyce has paid tribute to his players and backroom staff following a tenacious start to pre-season.

Speaking exclusively to SAFSee at the club's training base in Austria, the Sunderland manager praised the players' fitness levels and hailed the team behind the team for their hard work througout the summer and during the first week of training.

Allardyce also looked ahead previewing a challenging set of fixtures ahead of the Premier League's opening day, and much, much more.

Watch the full interview in the video above.