Sunderland's newly-appointed sporting director has revealed he will be relocating to Wearside and is urging future signings to do the same.
Speaking to the #SAFCUnfiltered podcast, Speakman is keen to fully immerse himself at the Stadium of Light and believes players will perform better if they do the same.
Last year, Phil Parkinson called on Will Grigg to relocate to Sunderland in an attempt to kick start his career in red and white.
When asked if he would move to the area by #SAFCUnfiltered podcast, he said: "I will be.
"I’ve got to prise my lovely wife out of Birmingham – she’s Birmingham through and through and we only live a few streets away from her parents, so from that perspective that’s a lovely comfort for her with young children.
"But it’s a commitment that we made when I accepted the job, and I’m really fortunate that she’s supportive of me and my lifestyle.
"We’ll move up to the area.
"You have to commit – that’s something we want to say to the players in the future, that you have to commit.
"And if you’re not going to do it yourself, you can’t put it on others – can you?”
