Phil Parkinson was pleased with how his Sunderland side played in a 3-4-3 formation as they drew with Doncaster Rovers yesterday.

A stunning Grant Leadbitter strike gave the Black Cats the lead but they would only pick up a point as a stoppage time effort from Fejiri Okenabirhie prevented the win.

Despite that, the former Bolton chief was satisfied with the display and he explained to the Sunderland Echo why the back three can give the side an advantage over certain teams.

"We wanted to go back to the [3-4-3] shape for various reasons. There's just certain elements of the system that makes it difficult for the opposition back four.

"We gave them a lot of problems and I was pleased with that. We've got to have the ability to change and adapt the system as we go along, as teams look to make it difficult, but I thought Doncaster found it hard to do that to us today."

The draw has left Sunderland in 8th position, although they are only three points away from the automatic promotion places given the tight nature of the league.

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The verdict

It's important for teams to be tactically flexible, so Parkinson is right to be pleased with how his side can play the 3-4-3 formation and they did play well for parts yesterday.

Ultimately though, it's about winning games and the team just couldn't get over the line against Doncaster.

Sunderland's position in the table isn't acceptable considering the squad they have, so pressure on Parkinson is fair and they need to get back to winning ways quickly.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.