Tony Pulis has praised Sunderland's decision to offload Aiden McGeady in the January transfer window.

The 33-year-old left the Black Cats after being told by Phil Parkinson that he was free to leave the club last month.

Quoted by BBC Sport, Parkinson said: "I had a good chat with Aidy about him moving on next month.

"I wanted to tell him early enough so that himself and his agent can look at other options."

McGeady eventually completed a loan switch to Charlton Athletic - a move which appears to have helped Sunderland focus their efforts as they move towards promotion.

While the two factors aren't necessarily linked, Pulis believes that Parkinson did a good job in ensuring that his squad weren't hampered by an unwelcome distraction.

Speaking during his appearance on EFL On Quest, Pulis said: “I’ve had lots of occasions where you don’t think players mix the way you want them to mix in the dressing room.

"Sometimes they can sap the energy of yourself, the coaching staff and the team.

"Especially lower down in the leagues, you need that spirit and togetherness to get you through games because it’s tough down there.

"The last thing you need is someone dragging you down and if Phil’s made that decision to move him on then it certainly looks to be a good decision.”

Can you name every Sunderland player's shirt number this season? 

 

The verdict

The decision to let Aiden McGeady leave seems to have worked out.

The 33-year-old clearly didn't want to be at the club and that will no doubt have had a detrimental impact on the team's fortunes on the pitch.

Sunderland look like a completely different team of late as everyone seems to be pulling in the same direction - something that could be crucial to helping to the team to promotion.

If the Black Cats do achieve their target then Phil Parkinson deserves real praise for the job that he's done.