Duncan Watmore has said that the Sunderland squad have not affected by the situation regarding Aiden McGeady.

The 33-year-old has made the headlines over the last week following reports of an incident at the Black Cats' training ground last week.

While details have not been revealed, Phil Parkinson said that the winger would be allowed to leave the club in the January transfer window.

Parkinson cited matters both on and off the pitch for the decision, with the Republic Of Ireland international looking like he may have made his last appearance for Sunderland.

The Black Cats played out a 1-1 draw with Blackpool without McGeady at the weekend, and asked if the team were affected by the latest goings on, Watmore said that it didn't impact them in the slighted.

Speaking to Chronicle Live, he said: "We were not affected at all. From a personal point of view I have been fully focused on this game, training and I was looking forward to this game.

"We wanted the win, we all did. It is a good dressing room and we are focused on starting to win games and climb the table.

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"I’ve seen a lot of good things at the football club. I’ve always had a positive outlook and I’ve always felt that it’s a really good group of lads. It’s hard to put your finger on why it hasn’t been going right.

"It's a good group and we've just got to take it out on to the pitch.

"From my perspective, there can’t be an arrogance about us, that we’re a big club in League One. The only way we get out of it is earning it out on the pitch.

"We as players need to win games. League One is a tricky league. We should get out of it, we believe that, but we have to earn it. We need to put together a strong run of results, that’s the only way we get out of it."

The verdict

The situation regarding Aiden McGeady is bound to have impacted the Sunderland camp.

The 33-year-old is a key member of the squad, and regardless of what's gone on, it's likely to have been a distraction.

Whether that will have impacted the performance against Blackpool is up for debate, but there's little doubt that it will have been a huge distraction at the Sunderland training ground.