Sunderland: Mike Dodds on form & Adil Aouchiche decision

Despite a worrisome sequence of losses, Mike Dodds claims he has the full backing of Sunderland’s players and feels there are two important aspects that should be taken into account when analyzing the Black Cats’ decline out of play-off contention and down the Championship table.

Dodds argues that should be taken into consideration, especially in light of the fact that Sunderland has lost its previous three games to clubs that are presently in the top six. Not to mention that he has been missing important players, such as star midfielder Jack Clarke.

Dodds has been encouraged by recent performances and maintained that Sunderland was “better than Southampton for large spells” on Saturday, even though Saints had a strong first half and might have easily won.

Sunderland battled back after the break and levelled through Romaine Mundle and Jobe Bellingham, only to then concede a quickfire double as they slumped to their sixth successive defeat.

The Black Cats are now closer to the relegation zone than they are the top six in terms of points but Dodds has called for unity.

“It feels like we have a lot of obstacles in our path right now, and instead of those obstacles getting easier, they’re getting bigger,” he stated.

“For myself and this group, it’s a crucial time to maintain our unity and adherence to our values.

“I am aware that the players are fully committed.” We have faced two elite opponents, Leicester and Southampton, and even Norwich, who still have their parachute money and a Premier League budget.

“We’ve faced three teams that have significant infrastructure in terms of squad depth and those types of things. There was nothing in the game against Norwich, we more than deserved to get at least a point against Leicester and I’m not going to say we deserved to win the game today, you don’t deserve to win if you concede four goals like that, but I do feel like for large spells of that game we were better than Southampton.

“There is some encouragement but I also appreciate it’s six defeats on the bounce and four since I’ve taken over.

“The two bits that give me some reassurance is the standard of the opposition in relation to the number of injuries we’ve got. When you’re playing against top teams, you need your squad available and that’s not the case at the moment.

“And I think – or I know – the group are fully on board with me because if they weren’t they wouldn’t put in the level of effort they have this week over three games.”

Dodds made three changes to the team on Saturday on the back of the defeat to Leicester but opted against starting starting Adil Aouchiche, despite his promising cameo from the bench against the Foxes.

“Adil was definitely unlucky not to start,” said Dodds.

“I just felt Riggy’s performance in midweek was so good he deserved another opportunity. It was a decision, do I take Riggy out and give him a breather or keep him in? I thought he deserved to stay in and that was the ultimate decision.

“I thought Naz came on and his energy and enthusiasm added to what we were trying to do,” he stated.

“Adil and Naz have forced their way forward in terms of next weekend, we’ve got to do our preparation and diligence for QPR but by coming on and playing as they did, they give themselves every chance.”

Read more on https://sportupdates.co.uk/