Mike Dodds praised Sunderland’s “professional” performance as they defeated Cardiff City on Good Friday to earn their first win of his third stint in interim management. However, he also acknowledged that he had been “tough” on his players following the game and emphasised the significance of another victory when Blackburn visits the Stadium of Light on Monday.
Dodds expressed his happiness that Sunderland had ended a seven-game run without a victory in the Championship, but he also acknowledged that his true joy lies with his players and the fans who travelled to South Wales and were able to celebrate their team’s first away victory since Boxing Day.
After Jobe Bellingham was ruled to have been fouled, Adil Aouchiche scored his second goal of the season, smashing home from the penalty spot. Just before the half, the Frenchman then turned provider, setting up Jobe, who scored with ease from inside the six-yard box, doubling Sunderland’s lead.
Erol Bulut, the manager of Cardiff, called this one of the Bluebirds’ worst performances of the season. Despite the fact that Sunderland could have and probably should have extended their lead in the closing minutes due to missed opportunities by Abdoullah Ba, Luis Hemir, and Romaine Mundle, Dodds’ team was comfortable with their lead.
However, Dodds and his team wanted to halt their winless streak, which began on February 10 with their victory over Plymouth Argyle. With the deficit to the bottom four now at 12 points, they did so by securing a second straight clean sheet for the first time since September and allaying any remaining concerns about getting drawn into a relegation battle in the last parts of the season.
In this position, you can’t get too high with the highs or too low with the lows, so I’m trying to be level with it all, Dodds said.
“I thought it was a really professional performance, and that’s what I attempted to do. I tried to maintain a really balanced perspective while analysing the group’s performance and our requests, asking them to execute the tasks we’ve given them. Thankfully, things worked out well for us today.
“I believe a win makes things feel a little bit lighter, so I’m happier for the fans and the group because we have a really fantastic group, but overall, I think it was a great, really professional effort both in and out of possession.
“We appeared to be much more calm than we had been in previous weeks when we scored the opening goal. In the QPR game, I observed a really nervous team. But as soon as we got that goal and they settled into a rhythm, I could see that everything we’ve been preaching about behind the scenes—which, I realise, not everyone will see—was real. It was the outcome of numerous laborious hours spent behind the scenes.
Dodds has repeatedly stated that he believes a single victory might start a winning streak for his team. Now, Sunderland needs to back up this coveted three-point haul with another impressive showing against Blackburn Rovers in the second half of their Easter weekend schedule.
Because of the outcomes, it hasn’t been an easy time for me or anyone else, Dodds said to our sister website We Are Sunderland. “What they’ve given me, though, is that they’ve fully embraced the procedures and have shown up every day to support our efforts. I appreciate that and have emphasised how crucial it is moving forward.
“In order to ensure that we receive a favourable outcome on Monday, I’ve been a little bit strict with them. The truth is, by Monday night, everyone will have forgotten about the negative outcome. I’ve put some pressure on them to make sure we meet comparable standards and levels on Monday because we need to make sure we can give everyone that back-to-back feeling.
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