I couldn’t get my head round not playing at Sunderland, says Dob
George Dobson has delivered a candid interview following Charlton Athletic’s win over Sunderland last weekend.
The midfielder left Sunderland by mutual consent and completed a move to Charlton last July.
The 23-year-old, who spent the second half of last season on loan at AFC Wimbledon, still had a year left on his contract at the Stadium of Light but the deal was terminated.
Dobson made 46 appearances in all competitions for the Black Cats after joining the club from Walsall in 2019.
Charlton’s number four, though, started for his new club against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in League One last Saturday.
A Jayden Stockley goal was enough to inflict a first home loss of the season on the Black Cats.
Dobson had only featured in six league games so far this season but was vital for the Addicks they grabbed an unexpected win just days after the dismissal of manager Nigel Adkins.
Dobson had been omitted from the matchday 18 in each of Charlton’s last six League One matches.
That, though, made the victory on Wearside even better.
After playing regularly in the first half of the 2019/20 season, the midfielder fell down the pecking order following the arrival of Lee
Johnson on Wearside.
Dobson told CharltonTV: “I was actually in this situation at Sunderland about a year ago and I probably found it tough not playing, not being involved at all. I couldn’t really get my head around it.
“I’ve learnt from that a lot and this time – obviously I’m disappointed to not be playing – I didn’t let it affect me. I tried to work harder in the gym, work on extras, because you never know when you’re going to get your opportunity, and obviously for me it was [at Sunderland]. By staying mentally strong and putting in the extra work I felt like I was ready for my opportunity.
“It was sweet at the end but it’s only one game. It’s a lot to build on. It was a great feeling. Obviously, for me, the last few weeks have been tough.
“Football’s a funny game in terms of you find yourself out of favour and then obviously Jacko [caretaker boss Johnnie Jackson] comes in and gives me the opportunity to start. So, it’s one of them – I’m playing against my former club and obviously a fresh manager bounce for myself. I just wanted to go out and give everything for the team to prove to him that I should be playing and I should be keeping my shirt.
“For me, personally, it was obviously unbelievable but the team…you could just see out there we just ran for each other and gave absolutely everything. There was a lot of quality as well and that was with one and a half day’s worth of work with Jacko. So, we’ve obviously said that that’s the bare minimum going forward.
“Some days you’re not going to be as good on the ball, but if you put that work ethic in and workrate, that gets you results in this league.
“We’ve set a standard and we’ve just got to make sure that every game we’re at that level really.”