Sunderland interim boss Mike Dodds pinpoints a major issue after their 2-1 defeat to Swansea.
The Black Cats were not able to return to winning ways after a poor defeat to Swansea. Sunderland had lost two games in a row before the defeat which saw Michael Beale relieved of his duties.
As a result, Dodds has been put in charge until the end of the season, hoping to restore the Black Cats’ playoff position.
However, a brace from Ronald put Sunderland 2-0 down at the Stadium of Light at half-time. Luke O’Nien did pull a goal back in the second period but it wasn’t enough as the Black Cats fell to three defeats on the bounce.
Reflecting on the result, Dodds believed there could have been a key issue with the squad that caused their downfall on Saturday afternoon.
Sunderland has a “mentality issue”
Sunderland’s most recent loss has now seen them drift eight points off the playoffs, despite retaining their 10th-place position.
The Swansea game was a real opportunity for the side to bounce back from their recent defeat in front of the home crowd. However, a poor first-half display put the game out of sight for Sunderland.
After the game, Dodds believed there was a ‘mentality issue’ with his squad on Saturday due to the contrasting displays his side gave in both halves.
He told Sunderland: “It was really disappointing if we are being brutally honest. The ironic thing with it is in the first half we wanted to be really bold and aggressive in terms of our approach. That probably hindered us a little bit in terms of how open we were.
“In the second half, we made one or two changes and went a little bit more reserved in terms of our set-up, but it looked more aggressive. The question I then posed the players was what was the difference.
“Sometimes, we can talk around tactics and technical stuff but there’s a mentality issue. That isn’t something that is levelled at the group very often.
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