The Chronicle (South Tyneside and Durham)
Neil is not expecting another rout of Owls
ALEX Neil watched Sunderland demolish a patched-up Sheffield Wednesday 5-0 at the Stadium of Light in December - but warns tonight’s play-off semi-final will bear no resemblance to that one-sided display.
Wednesday resumed their campaign on Wearside after a 19-day hiatus caused by a Covid outbreak and were further depleted through injuries as Ross Stewart grabbed a hat-trick and the Black Cats ran riot to ensure they would go into the New Year sitting top of the League One table.
Lee Johnson was in charge of the Wearsiders at the time but Neil, who was then out of work, was travelling the country watching a variety of games and it was one of the matches he took in.
Tonight it will be him leading Sunderland into battle against Wednesday in the first leg of the play-off semi-final at the Stadium of Light - but he expects a very different game to the one he witnessed just before the turn of the year.
He said: “I have seen a lot of them because they play a similar shape to us so when we do our prep work, when we watch the opposition’s games we often watch them against Sheffield Wednesday.
“I have also watched the video of our games against them home and away.
“The 3-0 defeat at their place was not really a 3-0 game - we had good moments in that game.
“The home game, while it was a really good performance, it probably was not a 5-0 game either.
“I was at that game live, just because when I was out of work I was going round watching games - but a lot has changed since then. “We play a different shape now, there is different personnel, they have strengthened in the January window.
“If you look at the back line Sheffield Wednesday had that day Ciaran Brennan, who is a midfielder was playing on the right side and Marvin Johnson who is a left winger, was playing as left centre-back. It will not be like that this time.”
Just 44 days after Neil had watched Sunderland win against Wednesday he was appointed as Johnson’s successor, the latter having been sacked in the wake of a 6-0 defeat at Bolton which had left Sunderland with just one win in five games since that rout against the Owls.
Asked if he was surprised at the rapid turnaround in fortunes since, he added: “No, because that is how quickly things can turn in football.
“That is why I never get ahead of myself because when you start believing your own hype and think you have cracked it, football has a nasty habit of proving you wrong.
“I am quite relaxed and I would like to think I have a grounded view on things in terms that when we are doing well, great - let’s prolong it.
“When it is not going well we need to get into gear and affect the next game and win the next match. Football changes quickly.
“If you lose a game everything is on a downward spiral - if you win a game it is an upward spiral.
“There is very little in between at big clubs, that is just the nature of things nowadays. I try to control it as best I can and the best way to control it is to win games.”
The sides will meet again on Monday at Hillsborough in the second leg. The winners will then take on either MK Dons or Wycombe in the final at Wembley on May 21.
Neil is keen for Sunderland to play attractive, attacking football but admits when it comes to the playoffs the only thing which really matters is the result.
He went on: “At this stage of the season results are more important than performances.
“There are games where we have played particularly well but did not win them and that is frustrating. I would much rather the other way round, win and don’t perform well.
“Equally you want to marry the two because if your performances are not of a decent standard you will not win enough games anyway.”