Mike Dodds on Sunderland’s attacking dilemma ahead of Norwich game
Due to his dedicated performances on the training field, LUIS HEMIR has returned to Sunderland’s starting lineup. Mike Dodds hopes that the Portuguese striker will continue to inspire him to be chosen for the squad.
Hemir led the line against Norwich City for 66 minutes before Nazariy Rusyn took his position. This was Hemir’s first start of the season since the first game.
Despite Sunderland’s ongoing goal drought, the 20-year-old has had a challenging debut season on Wearside, with only two starts and fifteen substitute appearances to his credit.
Hemir has struggled to handle the step into the Championship from the reserve ranks at Benfica, but Dodds has seen enough on the training ground in the last few weeks to suggest he is turning his corner. Hence his promotion to the starting side at Carrow Road.
Mike Dodds
Hemir is working extremely hard, to be fair, according to Sunderland’s acting head coach. “The players on the training field will have an opportunity if I see they are all committed to the football team.” That’s what Hemir has done, and long may it continue.
“I rewatched all of his Benfica clips, and in his defense, he plays in an entirely different way. He was just in disbelief at what we were expecting him to do when I sat down with him early in the season and we discussed match loads in terms of distance covered and sprint distance.
That has been crucial in helping him change his mindset. He’s a nice young man who is driven to succeed in this place,and I think he’s got the mentality now of having to do those things before he can do the things that he likes.
“What we’re asking him to do is very different to his upbringing in football but the one thing I would say is – he can do it.”
Whether the youngster remains in the side for this evening’s home game with Leicester City remains to be seen.
Dodds could opt to start with Rusyn or Mason Burstow as his central striker, or could even opt to play without a natural number nine, instead fielding Jobe Bellingham or Abdoullah Ba as the nominal leader of the line.
Hemir was preferred to Sunderladn despite the fact that he led the attack and Sunderladn barely produced many opportunities due to Hemir’s better hold-up play.
“We made some slight adjustments to our possession tactics against Norwich, and I simply thought we needed a focal point to play off of and onto,” Dodds said. That’s why we chose to go with Hemir.
“I thought he performed alright in the main. I believe he was entitled to a little bit more assistance. I believe we could have played better in the first fifteen minutes, but as we got into the swing of things, we had several plays where we looked comfortable in possession without really hurting anyone. I simply sensed, regarding the way we set up, we needed a focal point.”
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