The key area Sunderland have to improve - #onthewhistle - video Dailymotion

Sunderland Echo

Phil discusses Sunderland's attacking issues as part of his regular Q&A with fans

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00:00Talking about where the goals are coming from, even in this team, when it's full strength.

00:04And Tom here says,

00:05The worry is the lack of creativity coupled with poor decision-making from midfield to the final third.

00:11We don't play through the middle and no one wants to shoot without taking one or two extra touches.

00:15Set pieces that are so important are lacking imagination, need width too.

00:19So yeah, I think this is just generally around the theme of Sunderland's attacking struggles.

00:21And this is probably my main concern.

00:24I'm going to bring another comment here, which is kind of similar, which is Michael saying,

00:27I'm kind of a bit tired of hearing we can't flick the switch and turn it on for the playoffs personally.

00:32I get why people say it, but if the players can't find that extra percentage, regardless of cohesion and momentum,

00:36then should any of them be playing games of that magnitude?

00:40So I agree with Michael in the sense that I do think that,

00:44I do expect to see a natural improvement when someone gets the playoffs and we start seeing a more familiar team.

00:51I think that we'll see, I do think the players can quickly recapture a pretty good level.

00:56It's not something I'm overly concerned about.

00:59I think if you look at the example of Southampton last season,

01:01I know they had a better season than Sunderland in terms of their points and they had a stronger squad,

01:05but they rotated heavily at the end of the season.

01:08And then for the final day of the season, went back to a strong team, won, and then went into the playoffs.

01:11I think it is something that you can do.

01:13My broader concern a little bit with Sunderland going into those playoffs is as those Andy,

01:18as mentioned there, and Tom, is that I think the attacking players are a little bit of a concern.

01:22I think some of it is personnel. I think Rameen Mundell is obviously a big miss.

01:26It's such a big goal threat in the first half of the season before he got that injury.

01:30I also think fullback is an issue at the moment.

01:33And I say that, and I thought that Alan Brown and Jo Anderson did well yesterday,

01:36sort of players operating out of position.

01:39As I said, Jo Anderson's the centre-half really with minimal championship experience.

01:42Alan Brown and midfielder, I thought both did a good job.

01:45I think Brown, I've got no issues with them playing right back generally.

01:47But I think that, especially when you're playing against a low block,

01:50which is obviously a big issue for Sunderland at the moment,

01:53I think your fullbacks are really important because they get so many touches of the ball

01:57and they're often the players who have the most space on the pitch.

02:00And I think that the lack of natural fullbacks in terms of that attacking threat

02:04has been a little bit of an issue for Sunderland over recent weeks.

02:07Naturally, when Trey Hume is back from suspension, that'll help.

02:10But I think on the other flank, I think Dennis Sikhan is really, really important

02:13in terms of getting him back and hopefully in good form for the playoffs.

02:16Again, it's no slight really on anyone who's played left-back in the last few weeks,

02:20but I think those players are ones who prefer to naturally centre-halves.

02:24I put Leo Hilde in with Jo Anderson as well.

02:28They're naturally more defensive players because they're centre-halves by trade.

02:32They're not comfortable, I don't think, overlapping the winger,

02:35hitting the byline, putting crosses in, or even driving infield towards the box.

02:39I think that's where Sikhan is a huge miss.

02:41And it's something that Adji Alise does very well when he plays as well.

02:43So, yeah, I agree with you, Michael, in terms of that.

02:47I do think you can recover your sort of momentum, if you like, your rhythm.

02:51I think a lot of these players have played so many minutes together this season

02:54that they will find that cohesion again when they're back together.

02:57And especially because they've now got two games where most of them are going to be playing together.

03:01But I have a little bit of a worry about someone's attacking player.

03:03I mentioned Deistore's lack of confidence there.

03:05That is something that I'm really hoping to see over the next couple of games.

03:08Because I don't think there's any doubt that, as an attacking unit,

03:12Somers haven't looked particularly convincing for quite a while now.

03:14And that would probably be my primary concern going into those playoffs.

03:18Some of that, I think, will naturally improve when players come back.

03:21Some of that, I do think, is quite dependent on how many players

03:24LaBrice is able to...

03:27Thank God I'm not the Somers manager.

03:30How many players LaBrice is able to get back from injury.

03:33So to that note, Chris is asking...

The key area Sunderland have to improve - #onthewhistle

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