MIKE’S SLACK CATS
Interim boss Dodds desperate to halt the slide after horror run of 5 defeats in a row
MIKE DODDS is desperate to avoid Sunderland suffering a SIXTH defeat in a row.
The interim coach has seen the Black Cats’ season collapse this year and he wants to shore up results.
Dodds took the reins saying he wanted to win all the games and get the club into the play-offs.
That is a slim prospect ahead of a trip to Southampton on the back of five defeats.
Dodds said: “It’s not lost on them (the players) that we’ve lost five and we have to address that.
“I’ve got full belief in the group – I feel we are one win away from results flipping on their head.
“This league is proven to be tough but we’ve got to dig in and we’ve got to stick together, and I’m seeing a lot of positives from the group.
“I’m also taking a level of comfort that the players are working, listening to the messages and are on board with what we are trying to do. I go back to Tuesday night (against Leicester), and I thought we were excellent against the best team in the league.”
Southampton boss Russell Martin admits he is glad to return to action after the midweek clash with Preston was postponed after a fire broke out near St Mary’s.
The Saints boss (below) said: “Everyone was quite confident the game would go ahead this weekend. It was quite a strange day, Wednesday. We got told about it in the afternoon and could see the smoke as you drove into the city.
“We understood then it was a big risk and thankfully nobody was hurt, which is my understanding, and that’s the most important thing.
“Everyone is safe and now we have a game of football to focus on and hopefully enjoy. It was a strange day with the game being cancelled.
“I have never known anything like it really but thankfully everyone is OK and we can move forward with a game.”
The postponement means Martin’s side will play 10 games in 36 days as they close out their Championship campaign. And the manager admits his players must get used to the idea they are playing catch-up on their promotion rivals.
He added: “We are in the midst of a really relentless period and face another one from the end of
March and April. I don’t know if it will be good or bad, but it’s not ideal when other teams will have played two more games than us.
“It is something we will have to deal with psychologically and just ignore a bit. We focus on ourselves”