This season's form, including Sunday's derby win over Middlesbrough, has put them on the cusp of the play-off spots.

"There's no big expectations from the suits to reach play-offs or promotion," Mowbray told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"We just have to keep trying to produce a football team that can compete in this division and as we build it over the next year or two, the aspirations of the team will get higher.

"At this moment it's about being competitive and working hard."

Mowbray's arrival in the early part of the season came about after Alex Neil - the man who guided Sunderland into the Championship - departed for Stoke City.

The former Middlesbrough, Celtic, West Brom and Blackburn boss has won 10 and drawn six of his 23 games so far.

Although talent has been added to the Black Cats squad this season, notably in Manchester United loanee Amad Diallo and ex-Arsenal defender Dan Ballard, there are a sizeable proportion of players who have made the step up.

Goalkeeper Anthony Patterson, the versatile Luke O'Nien, playmaker Alex Pritchard and top-scorer Ross Stewart have all settled into the second-tier well after promotion.

Loanees like Paris Saint Germain midfielder Edouard Michut and imports such as Trai Hume and Jack Clarke have been knitted with homegrown talent in the shape of Dan Neil in a youthful group.

"I like this group of players, they work really hard," Mowbray added. "They're young players, they finished fifth in League One last year and they're adapting to this division and working really hard to be a decent team.

"We have to incrementally grow it bit by bit. Every time Edouard Michut gets on the pitch he's getting more confidence and belief. The same goes with [Abdoullah] Ba and Jewison [Bennette].

"These young players have got to be given opportunity to grow and somewhere down the line start effecting the game like Amad Diallo keeps effecting a game."