Dan Neil explains why the Sunderland dressing room has really ‘shifted’ recently

What has changed so drastically in the Sunderland dressing room recently has been addressed by Dan Neil.

Due to Luke O’Nien’s suspension, Dan Neil has assumed the captaincy in recent games, although he has rapidly had to establish himself as one of the older, more seasoned players on the Sunderland team.

Even though the midfielder is only 22 years old, he has already made 150 appearances for the Black Cats.

Previously seen as a talented young man who had the opportunity to learn from the likes of Lynden Gooch and Alex Pritchard, he has now filled the shoes of his erstwhile seniors and has been pushed to mature considerably faster this term.

There are now just five players in Sunderland’s whole squad members who are older than 24, none of whom were present for the draw against QPR because of an injury or suspension.

Since the summer, the Wearside team has let go of all of Ross Stewart, Lynden Gooch, Alex Pritchard, Danny Batth, Bailey Wright, and Carl Winchester. Dan Neil acknowledges that this has led to a change in the dressing room.

“I believe there has been a significant change in the group’s dynamic,” Neil stated to the Sunderland Echo.

The team that played Southampton last week was incredibly inexperienced. I believe that last week, much like Leicester, we really came out swinging in the second half and were very, very good. Actually, we were hoping to keep going and emerge victorious, and that’s definitely our innocence with younger boys, and they scored by catching us off guard.The dynamic has changed. Danny, Lynden, and Pritch are examples of individuals who were fit for a significant portion of last year, along with Corry Evans. However, it looks like you have a new core set of players now, including Patto (Anthony Patterson), Dan Ballard, Jack Clarke, Patrick Roberts, and me (Trai Hume). It’s only evolving, but it happens in football.
We must develop into role models in the locker room and assist these young men. Despite our youth, we have played a lot of games at this level and are aware of what’s ahead. I believe it is our current responsibility to assist these guys who have made the leap to

Play for Sunderland and assist them in continuing in the same manner that players like Lynden Gooch and Danny Batth assisted us.

This summer, who else could Sunderland sell to?
If Sunderland loses even more of their “experienced” heads, they might be in serious trouble this summer.

Corry Evans and Bradley Dack may depart at the conclusion of their contracts, and Anthony Patterson, Dan Neil, Dan Ballard, and Jack Clarke have all been linked to moves to the Premier League.

This team’s average age would be startling if all six players were to go.

This means that Kristjaan Speakman has a big job ahead of him: adding more seasoned players, something he has so far looked incredibly hesitant to do.

Fans have called for a validated Instead of responding with more youngsters and expecting them to help us make the playoffs once more, he chose to bring in a goalscorer and some more leadership to the team.

This season, the club’s sporting director has made grave errors that have caused it to deteriorate. Speakman’s career may now hinge on his ability to correct these mistakes and if Kyril Louis-Dreyfus will continue to support him.