DEAL DONE & DUSTED – NOW I CAN FOCUS ON PROMOTION!
LYNDEN GOOCH OPENS UP ON NEW CONTRACT AND HIS AMBITIONS FOR SUNDERLAND – AND INTERNATIONAL
Earlier in the season, Jack Ross admitted he had been surprised when he realised how little game time Lynden Gooch had picked up in previous campaigns.
Under every manager since David Moyes, the youngster had a glimpse of regular football.
By and large he impressed, but for one reason or another he fell out of contention.
Even after returning in stunning fashion on the right wing against Derby County late in the season, Gooch was in and out as Sunderland tumbled into the third tier.
So with one year left on his deal, his future was anything but certain.
Contract talks dragged on until new year but ultimately the 23-year-old was left convinced that his ambitions, for club and country, could be achieved at the place he has come to consider home.
It is a ringing endorsement of the work Ross has done since pre-season, particularly the faith he showed in Gooch when the exciting form of early season dipped just a touch.
“The delay was just one of them things that happens,” Gooch said.
“I wanted to get it done as soon as possible but it’s one of them things that just dragged out. Hopefully I can kick on now and focus on football.
“Our aim this season is promotion and we want to go up as champions as well. I’m happy it’s over the line and now I can focus on that.
“From day one I’ve had a close relationship with the manager and I’ve said I wanted to play at the highest level possible. Hopefully we can get promoted this year and continue on that journey.
“The manager’s been terrific for me and I’ve played more football for Sunderland this season than I have any other season so I’m just hoping I can repay that faith by helping them to win games.
“I haven’t been creating as much as I would have liked in recent games but the manager has stuck with me and hopefully I put in a better performance against Blackpool and I can continue to kick on in the second half of the season.”
Gooch already has four international caps to his name but has been well aware that playing in the third tier is a challenge for his ambitions on that front.
While there is an enormous amount of work to be done, this new deal is a clear sign about where he thinks the Black Cats are headed both in the short and the long term.
“I want to get back into the national team but I know it’s going to be difficult in League One,” he said.
“I’ve just got to keep playing well and producing good performances and if we go up, that’s something I’ll look at in the summer or next season.”
A crucial win over Blackpool left Sunderland well placed int he promotion push and Gooch was pleased that the Black Cats quickly bounced back from the frustration that followed the 1-1 draw with Shrewsbury.
“I’m looking forward to a good 2019. The contract’s done and dusted and I’m just glad to be able to get that bit of security for a few years,” Gooch said.
“What you saw on Tuesday, I don’t think you’d get that at any other club in this division, and maybe not the Championship either. They’ve supported me since the day I made my