---
title: "Sunderland: Alex Neil drops Corry Evans claim"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/oxford-united-team-news-evans-league-one/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Adam Clancy"
section: "Sunderland News"
published: "2022-04-08T14:04:02Z"
modified: "2022-04-08T14:04:02Z"
---

# Sunderland: Alex Neil drops Corry Evans claim

**Sunderland manager Alex Neil has claimed that Corry Evans gets a ‘hard time’ among the fan base as the Black Cats prepare to face Oxford United away from home in League One on Saturday.**

### The Lowdown: Evans criticised

The Northern Ireland international has come under a lot of [criticism](https://twitter.com/Capt_Fishpaste/status/1495473915099029505?s=20&t=0TAmulMQk2YVDGtwnwK9Bg) from some fans at the Stadium of Light, both for some of his performances on the pitch as well as his off-field leadership.

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Renowned Black Cats podcaster [Roker Report](https://twitter.com/RokerReport/status/1495099411843760134) has previously claimed that the 31-year-old ‘isn’t a leader’ and is ‘anonymous’ as a captain, but Neil seemed determined to put things right in his pre-match press conference ahead of this weekend.

### The Latest: Neil leaps to Evans’ defence

Speaking to the media (via [The Chronicle](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/alex-neil-hails-corry-evans-23633943?t=)), Neil has now responded to the criticism that Evans has endured, claiming that the player gets a ‘hard time’ and has been ‘very good’ for Sunderland.

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The 40-year-old thought that Evans was ‘excellent’ in the 1-0 win at home to Gillingham last week, which may suggest that the midfielder will keep his place in the team at Oxford.

### The Verdict: Evans has stepped up

Evans has really stepped up in the last few weeks, emphasised by the fact that Sunderland have now gone [seven matches](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/afc-sunderland/spielplandatum/verein/289) unbeaten in the league.

The Northern Ireland international was impressive in parts of his game against Gillingham, achieving a 90% pass success rate, the joint-second best out of any player on the pitch. He also attempted three shots and played three accurate long balls from deep in midfield ([SofaScore](https://www.sofascore.com/sunderland-gillingham/vsQ)).

The 31-year-old will be aiming to impress his manager once more by hopefully helping his team to collect all three points at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

***In other news,*** [***Sunderland have been dealt a big injury blow***](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/sunderland-afc-news/gillingham-team-news-aiden-mcgeady-injury-news/)