Parky bides time before naming his line-up for cup clash
BOSS TO MAKE SURE SIDE IS FRESH FOR TRIP TO OXFORD
PHIL Parkinson will not finalise his line-up until later today as Sunderland head to Oxford United for their Carabao Cup last-16 tie.
The Black Cats are expected to make changes against the Us at the Kassam Stadium, one of which will be forced upon them with goalkeeper Lee Burge absent with a thigh injury.
However, assistant manager Steve Parkin says Parkinson will seek to strike a balance between freshening things up for the cup game without making wholesale changes from the side which lost at Shrewsbury Town in the league at the weekend.
He said: “We have a few injuries but we are still strong enough to keep the same or change a few, we will decide on that tomorrow.
“Oxford are a very good side and they have been scoring freely of late, so we have to be right defensively.
“We need to make sure we select a team fresh enough to go there and play with plenty of energy.
“At the same time we don’t want to break too much up because the last two performances have been very good.
“Phil will bear that in mind and he will not select the team until sometime tomorrow.
“We have to make sure we are competitive and if it is a stereotypical League One game we have to be ready for that.
“Then maybe at the weekend (when Southend visit the Stadium of Light in the league) we will need a bit of freshness because we will be on our own patch and we can play with the freedom, the pace and the speed of the Tranmere game.”
Parkinson may use the cup game to look at some of the players who have seen little or no action in his first three games in charge, meaning the likes of Dylan McGeouch and Marc McNulty could come into contention.
Parkin added: “One good thing about the manager and his personality is the amount of time he spends with players who are not in the team. The picture can change so quickly so it is important you keep those players mentally and physically right.”
Jon McLaughlin, who replaced Burge at half-time against Shrewsbury, will start tomorrow. Parkin said: “It was Lee’s very first kick really, he tweaked a hip flexor. “It settled down a bit but then he dived and landed right on it and it was painful after that.
“The physio does not think it is too bad, he expects it settle down in a few days, so he will miss tomorrow’s game although he might be back in contention for the weekend.” Lynden Gooch (ankle) and Charlie Wyke (ankle ligaments) are still out of action. Parkin has worked alongside Parkinson for eight years and while at League Two Bradford City took the Bantams to the final of this cup competition in 2013, defeating Premier League opposition in Wigan Athletic, Arsenal and Aston Villa, before eventually losing to top-flight side Swansea City at Wembley.
Two years later, the pair took Bradford to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in a run which included victories over Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and a home win over Gus Poyet’s Sunderland.
Parkin said: “We will take the Oxford game very seriously.
“We have been lucky enough to have two amazing cup runs with Bradford which were life-changing really in terms of experience, and we will be giving these players the message that this is in an important game and onwe want to win to progress.
“While the priority is being successful in this division, there is nothing better than going on a cup run to lift any town or city.
“We have first-hand experience of that and it is definitely true – it can build momentum and confidence in the squad and the staff.
“I amsure the players would love to win and draw a big team in the next round.”