Sunderland players ‘don’t trust’ teammate who ‘looked frustrated’ v Leicester

Sunderland players ‘don’t trust’ this one teammate following the defeat vs Leicester City, it has been claimed.

Midweek saw Sunderland fall at Leicester City 1-0, handing Mike Dodds’ team their fifth straight Championship loss.

Dodds has now lost all three of his opening games in what is a third spell as interim boss, after Sunderland sacked Michael Beale last month.

The Black Cats could now break an unwanted 18-year record this weekend if they lose against Southampton, having not lost six games in a row since the 2005/06 season.

And in what seems like an age old debate for Sunderland now, who starts up front remains to be seen.

Sunderland striker woes summed up by Luis Hemir

In Sunderland’s last two games, Luis Hemir has led the line.

He is still a player with a ton of potential, and one day he might take over for Ross Stewart, who was injured last summer.

However, the 20-year-old is having a difficult time right now. In his 18 Championship outings for the Black Cats, he has not scored, and in the last two games that he has started, he has not had an effect

Journalist James Copley offered his assessment of the Portuguese striker, saying that Hemir appeared disappointed in the midweek match against Leicester and that the Sunderland teammates might not fully trust him just yet.

During the Road Podcast, Copley stated:

“I believed Hemir to be extremely alone… His demeanor conveyed frustration. Sunderland isn’t trying to get him excited. They are not trying to play from behind. I don’t think they trust him at this point since it’s obvious. That’s something that hopefully has room to expand. Does he exhibit enough? Does he run often enough? Is he hitting the proper number of home runs? That doesn’t convince me either.

Patience needed by all where Hemir is concerned

There’s a sense with Hemir that, sooner or later, things will quickly fall into place.

It might just take one strong outing to get him going in the right direction, or any kind of goal to give him the confidence to keep going and score more.

However, as Copley notes, there appears to be a current discontinuity in the Sunderland attack.

It may make sense that the midfielders and wide players seek out other options before passing the ball to Hemir, as he is still learning the ropes in the Championship.

It’s normal for a player to be underperforming, and Hemir finds it difficult to play up front by himself without Jack Clarke or Alex Pritchard behind him since he has a lot of responsibilities.

All that Hemir can do is keep his head down and keep on working.

Frustration shows that he cares but it can also distract him in games. Dodds clearly believes in him and Hemir will want to repay that faith, though whether he’s done enough in the past two games to warrant a start vs Southampton this weekend remains to be seen.

Nazariy Rusyn could well come back into the side, though whether he can make a difference remains to be seen.

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