Sunderland told they have finally found their identity with a new standard set.
Sunderland interim manager Mike Dodds was impressed with his team’s performance against Leicester City.
Mike Dodds believes his Black Cats team made improvement against Leicester. He stated, “That’s probably what I want Sunderland to look like, and the people of Sunderland want Sunderland to look like.” Despite the club’s fifth consecutive defeat, Sunderland pressed the league leaders, particularly in the second half, and provided moments of excitement for the 40,000-plus spectators in the 1-0 loss.
Dodds rated his team as “outstanding” in the second period, as they came close to stealing a point from the Foxes. “It took us 15 minutes to find our feet and unfortunately the opposition scored in that time,” Dodds said.
“But from then on, I believed we came into the game, both with and without the ball, especially in the final 30 minutes of the first half. I thought we were fantastic in the second half. We’ve come up against a team with Premier League players. They are prepared for the Premier League. And I don’t want to be that guy who brings up figures because stats can be twisted to your advantage, but their XG [expected goals] in the second half was 0.01 and I’d be amazed if there was a game of football in the Championship this season with such a low statistic. To achieve it against a team like Leicester, I believe, demonstrates the group’s continued commitment to the work at hand.
He said, “I know it bothers people when I talk about the training ground, but they [the players] are completely dedicated to what we’re trying to do. And I’m incredibly proud of them, but I’m also really frustrated because it’s another defeat, which isn’t lost on me. But I’m quite proud that, especially in the second half, that is how Sunderland should look. That is the plan going ahead.”
Dodds singled out Chris Rigg, who is only 16, saying, “Riggy is a top footballer regardless of age, and I hate the age thing.” He is a fantastic footballer, and he deserves his chance because he has worked tirelessly in training since I took over. His effort off the bench against Norwich provided us a spark. To be honest, I only intended to give him one hour, but he was so effective and good in the game that I wanted to keep him on for as long as possible. Given that it was his first full start in the league in front of those incredible fans, I’m extremely happy of him.
“He’s a great kid, I’m really looking forward to working with him over the next few years and I’m sure we have a potential top footballer on our hands.”
All three of Dodds’ matches in command have seen a steady improvement, and he added: “All three games have had a step in the right direction.”The first half against Swansea was terrible, but we improved in the second half and now have something to build on.
“The second game [Norwich], while extremely disappointing, I believe it revealed some layers about the route we want to take as a squad. And in the second half, as well as in the first half against Leicester, we thoroughly dominated spells in and out of possession. So, while there are some positives, it is another defeat.
“We all need to remain together; we’ve proved we’re moving in the right path, and while things aren’t going our way right now, if we keep doing what we’re doing, that will change very rapidly. We want a team that the club can be proud of and that supporters are thrilled to see, and we demonstrated this evening that we are on the right track.”
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