BAILEY WRIGHT says Sunderland’s players cannot use the club’s off-field upheaval as an excuse for their faltering form, and is confident there is time to salvage the season.
The Black Cats dropped out of the League One play-off positions as their winless run was extended to five matches when they lost at home to MK Dons on Saturday.
It has been a chaotic few weeks on Wearside, with Lee Johnson’s departure heralding a ten-day hiatus in which the club eventually recruited Alex Neil and revelations about the ownership structure angering large swathes of the fanbase.
On the pitch, Sunderland have picked up just one point from the last available 15, but Wright accepts the change of head coach does not excuse such a poor run of form.
“Things change at a club,” said Wright, who partnered Callum Doyle at centre-half in Saturday’s loss. “We’re footballers, and we’ve been in this situation before.
“I think there were a lot of positives this last week. The one thing that wasn’t positive was the result.
"I’m an emotional person and sometimes get frustrated when we don’t win, but we have to reflect on it and clear our heads.
“I really think there was a lot of good this week that got me excited from between now and the end of the season, because I really do think we can put a run together.”
Sunderland looked like a side on a downward slide as they crashed to defeat at the weekend, but while Wright accepts the mood would be much brighter if results were more positive, the Australian does not feel his team-mates are suffering from a crisis of confidence.
“I think we are confident in terms of we know what we can do as a group,” he said, ahead of tomorrow evening's return to action against Burton Albion.
“We have full belief that we will get results and can turn this bad run of form around. Of course, a win helps confidence, but I don’t think we are unconfident at all.
“We have had a good week’s training and really the lads have worked hard, we have learnt what the manager wants from us and a lot of that we did well.
“We need to make sure we keep a strong mentality and a focus to go and get ourselves out of this run that we are in. I am sure that is what we will do.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereYou must verify your phone number before you can comment.
Please enter your phone number below, and a verification code will be sent to you by text message.
Please enter the six-digit verification code sent to you by SMS.
Your verification code has been sent a second time to the mobile phone number you provided.
Your verification code has been sent a third time to the mobile phone number you provided.
You have requested your verification code too many times. Please try again later.
Didn’t receive a code? Send it againThe code you entered has not been recognised.
Please try again
You have failed to enter a correct code after three attempts.
Please try again later.
Your phone number has been verified.
Your phone number has been stored with your account details. We will never use it for anything other than verifying that you are the legitimate owner of this account.