FOLLOWING his match winning goal at the weekend against Stoke City, manager Alex Neil has described Ross Stewart as the complete striker. Going off his form over the last 12 months, it’s hard to disagree.
After his 26 goal haul in League One last season, Stewart has continued this season in a similar vein in the Championship scoring three in his first five games to help the Black Cats on their way to a strong start to the season.
With the scoreline locked at 0-0 heading into the half-time interval at the Bet 365 Stadium, Stewart provided the run and was threaded through with a ball over the top. Rarely in the last 12 months have you heard that the Scotsman spurned the opportunity for the Black Cats and in Staffordshire, the story was no different as he tucked the ball away into the bottom corner.
His form over the last 12 months has been there for all to see. He ended up joint top scorer in League One for last season, earned promotion with the Black Cats by scoring in the final and earned his first caps for Scotland.
Neil, who has been at the Stadium of Light since February, has been a manager for just shy of a decade in which he has managed Hamilton Academical, Norwich City, Preston North End and Sunderland. For the strikers he has worked with over the course of his career, Stewart is right up there.
The Black Cats boss said: “He’s (Stewart) pretty much a complete striker in that he can take it in, he can run, he can score a goal and he’s good in the air.
“When you look at all the facets of a striker, there’s normally always one they’re not particularly good at. If you’ve got a big target man, they’re not normally mobile. If you’ve got someone who’s quick, they struggle to take the ball in and link the game.
“I think Ross has got all the attributes you need to be a top striker at this level. I’ve had some really good strikers over the years in some of the teams I’ve had, and Ross is right up there with any of them.”
Last season, Stewart was flying solo in attack for large parts of the campaign with the occasional appearance alongside Nathan Broadhead. This season, it’s virtually a different story with Ellis Simms making his impact felt in the early parts of the campaign.
Like Stewart, Simms has got off to a goalscoring start netting three goals for the Black Cats. The pair have been working in tandem as Neil continued: “Ellis helps him. It frees up space of Ross. As a consequence of what we’ve done, there’s a couple of lads who are not getting much game time at the moment.
“That’s because of the shape we’re playing. But for the vast majority of the lads who are on the pitch, I think the shape has really suited them. A lot of them are flourishing and doing really well.”
If it is not broken, then the Sunderland head coach is trying not to fix it with hopes that the pair can remain fit throughout the Championship campaign. One thing is for certain is that if Stewart continues his form over the season, he won’t be short of potential suitors.
The 26-year-old’s contract at the Stadium of Light is set to run until the summer but the club have an option to extend his deal by a further year.
