Cats coach Neil still seeking the right balance to make progress
Alex Neil admits he is still searching for the right blend in his Sunderland starting XI.
Neil is confident his side are moving in the right direction, unbeaten in five games and with their previously poor defensive record steadily improving.
However, he has candidly admitted that recent performances have been a ‘mixed bag’, with his substitutions key to eventual wins over both Crewe Alexandra and Fleetwood Town on home turf.
Primarily, he says he is still trying to get the balance right between being robust off the ball, and dangerous on it.
“It's trying to strike the balance for us at the moment, I think that's my biggest difficulty,” Neil said.
“It's about making sure that we have enough players in the team to get the ball back, but then enough players in the team who can naturally then go and damage the opposition.
“Bearing in mind as well, we've lost Alex Pritchard and Nathan Broadhead in recent games, two key players there in what we do [offensively], Aiden McGeady’s missing as well.
“To rest the young players, play the ones who haven't had many minutes while also losing players at the same time, to still maintain and pick up the points we have has been good.
“But it's definitely about getting the right balance in the starting XI for me, and
what the game is going to look like.
“We're working from game to game at the moment, and we probably haven't yet got the balance between getting the ball back and being good with it yet, and that's something I'm working on.
“If we can, then naturally it's going to put us in a strong position.”
Arguably Sunderland’s most convincing all-round performances under Neil so far have come away from home, and ahead of the trip to Sincil Bank today the head coach outlined why that is perhaps no coincidence.
“When you go away, the teams are naturally more expansive and they want to try and beat you on their own turf,” he said.
“Our last two opponents have come to the Stadium of Light and camped in their own half, and invited us to break them down. That then leaves a lot of space in behind you, and you have to guard against the counter-attack.
“It is hard to break teams down in that scenario, no matter what level.
“And I have to say as well, Crewe completely altered how they normally play and that did mean the personnel I selected probably wasn’t right to carry out the job that needed doing.”
Neil wants to develop an attacking style over time but says that, for now, results come first: “I certainly think we've got to be more substance over style at the moment.
“The result is the most important thing. We don't want to be poor in our play, not by any means, we want to play at a good level to grow from.
“But we have eight games and we need points.
“If I need to be a little more pragmatic to get those points, I will. In terms of performances recently it’s been a little bit of a mixed bag. Equally, we’ve got the points that matter, kept clean sheets and still been scoring goals.”