Sunderland are keen to ensure that they land a promotion back into the Championship and it is this determination that has seen them go through another manager this season.

Lee Johnson nearly took the Black Cats back into the second tier last year but failed in the play-offs. After a good start this year, the League One outfit began to drop down the table as results grew worse.

It ultimately led to the manager being relieved of his duties and after a hunt for a new boss, it is Alex Neil who now has the task of leading the club forward. Now, speaking about his start with the club, the former Preston manager has revealed to the Northern Echo that he is 'working as hard as he can' to get results to turn in their favour.

 

 

Neil has good experience of performing at the highest level in the Championship but has yet to secure his first lot of three points at the Stadium of Light. They'll need to change that soon though, with the club on the verge of slipping out of the top six.

The manager though believes that his side are certainly capable of doing so but did admit to the Northern Echo that he can 'see where the issues lie' at the club already.

He said: "All I can say is that I’m working as hard as I can. I’ve been here for just over a week.

"There are certain things that have naturally been brought to light and you can see where the issues lie. I’m not naïve to any means.

"But equally, you were always going to go through tough periods in the season and, unfortunately for us, I’ve adopted a situation which hasn’t been going well and obviously we are trying to turn that around immediately."

Neil then will be hoping he can see to - and solve - those issues as soon as he can. If he does - and if the Black Cats give him time - then it could pay off in the long run.

The Verdict

Alex Neil has decided to join a team that, right now, are arguably one of the worst to manage in the entire EFL as things stand. That isn't to say they are a bad club by any means, with some of the most loyal supporters in the land.

The issue is that the mentality at the club right now isn't great. They've been on a downward spiral and issues off the field have certainly aided and not helped this. It means they have also been lingering in League One for longer than they would have liked.

The Black Cats are a team that probably should be at least a division higher. They also do have some good talent in the squad that is capable of competing higher up the football pyramid.

However, Alex Neil has a team on his hands that perhaps don't believe or that their confidence is low. He needs to sort out the wheat from the chaff, stamp his blueprint on the team and get the squad buying into his methods and if they do, he can get the results.