Sunderland defender Reece James has been in excellent form in recent times.
Reece James has come in for Sunderland in their last few matches and excelled at left-back.
The summer signing has helped the Black Cats win three matches on the bounce, with his displays catching the eye.
And Ross admits that he cannot take the shirt off James, even though Oviedo is waiting in the wings.
“Reece has strong competition for his place, not just from Bryan but from Denver when he gets fit but he got an opportunity through circumstances and he’s taken it,” Ross said.
“If he continues to do that, he’ll continue to play and Bryan knows that as well. When the opportunity comes to Bryan, it will be the same for him.”
Oviedo was expected to have a key role to play for Sunderland when he stuck around over the summer, but he has played nothing more than a rotational role so far.
The Costa Rican international has been forced out of the team by some of his less experienced teammates.
It puts Oviedo’s future into doubt, as he is one of the higher earners on Sunderland’s books currently.
Ross’s side are next in action at the weekend, when they take on Plymouth Argyle.
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