Explaining Wright's loan exit and why he's been such a key figure

If there was an image that summed up Bailey Wright and his contribution to Sunderland it was the defender conducting his post-match press duties at Sheffield Wednesday with blood still pouring from his face. Ferocious on the pitch, calm and erudite off it.

Through four head coaches Wright has been Sunderland' s general, dependable on the pitch and a towering presence in the changing room.

To let him go even temporarily represents something of a gamble on Sunderland's part. Even as he dropped down the pecking order this season, he has made 17 appearances across competitions and played some part in seven of Sunderland's eleven Championship wins.

In part, it says much about how Sunderland operate. This is a club and a regime that stresses it will put the player first, reasoning that if you treat people well and with respect it will stand you in good stead in the future.

As Tony Mowbray explained last week, he wasn't particularly keen on losing him but also felt his path to the first team was challenging.

M ow bray wants his team to dominate the ball and defend as high up the pitch as possible, which is likely to favour the likes of Dan Ballard, Luke

O'Nien and Aji Alese. Dennis Cirkin is close to returning to full fitness, and Joe Anderson has now arrived from Everton. Danny Batth has been in exceptional form all season. Wright would have been some insurance policy.

Initially Wright turned down approaches from Hibernian, Portsmouth and others, but a shorter-term deal offering regular Championship football at Rotherham United changed the picture.

Wright' s partnership with Bat th, established as Alex Neil went back to basics, was one of the cornerstones of the long run that saw Sunderland win promotion just when it appeared that they were staring down the barrel of an almost unthinkable fifth season in League One.

Wright played his part and though now Sunderland look upwards when it comes to the table, there have been moments of tension in this season and the Australian was key in timely wins away at Birmingham and Huddersfield, for example.

If this does prove to be the end (and no one is saying it definitely will be ), he has been a key contributor to an important chapter in the club’s history.