Phil Parkinson has transformed Sunderland’s fortunes but it has been far from an easy ride and the manager has had to make some bold calls along the way.
One of those was to drop Aiden McGeady from the squad after the Gillingham defeat in December, at a time when the Black Cats had just two wins in 12 games, and the Irishman was the top scorer with six goals.
Since then, however, the north-east outfit have just one defeat in 13 matches, and now have a great chance to win automatic promotion.
Max Power has been talking about achieving that goal but has taken a very level-headed approach in his analysis, though he did point out the key difference that Parkinson has made to the side in terms of mentality and squad morale.
Speaking to the Sunderland official website, Power said:
“Now we can’t take our home form for granted because we need to go out and replicate what we have been doing. We have got a really good squad and there is a really good spirit at the moment.
“At full time on Saturday there were lads who didn’t get on come onto the pitch and were really happy for the lads who have played.
“It’s important we continue to show the togetherness we have done recently, and you can see the standards we have set ourselves.”
Getting rid of McGeady, who joined Charlton on loan last month, could be a key factor in the team spirit improving.
It was alleged that the winger was a negative influence on his teammates, and the contrast in Chris Maguire’s form is evidence of that.
While McGeady was at the club Maguire was spotted eating McDonald’s with his teammate after a match, but now the 30-year-old is on a brilliant streak of nine-goal contributions in 11 games, and he is making all the difference to the Black Cats’ attack.
Parkinson has seemingly played a role in his new-found confidence and form, too, so must be credited, as it is clear he has had a major influence on Sunderland’s upturn in results.
Does Parkinson deserve credit for getting rid of McGeady and improving the squad togetherness? And will that be enough to push Sunderland over the line for promotion? Give us your verdict below…
