Sunderland boss Lee Johnson has to weigh up his formation dilemma on both a short and long-term basis.

Danny Batth walked straight into the starting side following his arrival to the club last week. 

The defender made his debut for the club as Sunderland claimed a 1-0 victory over Portsmouth. 

Batth performed superbly as Johnson weighed up how to set his side against Pompey.

The absence of Alex Pritchard and Bailey Wright complicated matters further, as both were ruled out with calf injuries. Neither are expected back for the upcoming game at Bolton Wanderers either. 

However, Johnson has admitted that he is likely to revert to a back four in the medium to long term. 

Johnson also mentioned his wide options will be better once Aiden McGeady and Patrick Roberts return to full match fitness. 

"It played to our strengths on the day," said Johnson, via the Sunderland Echo. 

"Moving forward I'm not sure when you've got Aiden McGeady, Leon Dajaku, Patrick Roberts, Elliot Embleton, Alex Pritchard.

"Sometimes you have to just go horses for courses.

"It was a risk on Saturday, no doubt, and I spent a lot of time last week deciding whether to play a three or four.

"They also play 3-4-3 and have very narrow forwards, which can cause you a problem especially when they push their wing backs high.

"It was the best way I could give a new team and a new player clarity to be able to go toe to toe. It was tight and it wasn't as fluid as we maybe would have liked it to be but at the same, it ended up playing into our hands."

Johnson also revealed that the poor state of the Stadium of Light pitch has forced the side to adapt with a more direct approach to games. 

Sunderland are now second in the League One table, level on points with leaders Wigan Athletic who have four games in hand. 

The Verdict

That Johnson is adapting to the injuries and circumstances around the team and they are still digging in to earn impressive results speaks volumes to the work he is doing.

Portsmouth have proven themselves to be a very difficult side to break down this season, but the Black Cats found a way despite the different system.

Sunderland have a great chance of gaining promotion back to the Championship this season.

However, a lot of teams would have struggled with the injuries that Sunderland have suffered, but the team has gotten through this tough period still in decent shape.