The Sunderland captain has been stunned by the vast improvements in one particular part of the side.
Sunderland’s start to the 2024/25 Championship season has been nothing short of excellent under new boss Regis Le Bris.
The Black Cats have been guided to four wins on the bounce, and as a result, Sunderland have entered the first international break being top of the Championship table.
There have been clear improvements from across the side this season under the new French boss, despite the side looking similar regarding personnel, and it is clear that Le Bris has fully been able to galvanise his squad and have them begin to play with purpose.
Sunderland midfielder Dan Neil, who was promoted to team captain prior to the season commencing, is one of the several players who have noticed a massive improvement in the squad, with one particular difference leaving him ‘shocked’.
- READ MORE: The initial amount that Sunderland actually received for Jack Clarke is revealed, it’s grim reading
Dan Neil reveals defensive changes have left him ‘shocked’
With four wins on the bounce, it is clear that there have been vast improvements across the board for Sunderland, most particularly in defence for the Black Cats.
Neil has been front-and-foremost staggered by the developments of the team on the defensive side, as he said to BBC 5 Live Sport on X: “I’m even shocked at how good we are defensively to be honest.
“We’ve learned a bit from last year. We tried to go man for man too much and then we’d end up conceding just before the break.
“But I think it’s the third year in the championship for a lot of this time and I think that naivety is kind of leaving the team and we’re starting to understand the game management side of it.
“I think that’s a massive part of the reason why we’ve started so well defensively.”
- READ MORE: How the seven Championship teams who matched Sunderland’s emphatic start fared in their campaigns
Do the stats back up Sunderland’s defensive improvements
At this moment of the season, Sunderland have a staggering three clean sheets already to their name, on par with relegated Premier League side Leeds United.
Sunderland’s ability on the press, as Neil also mentioned, has been much more improved under Le Bris, leaving certain individuals to stand out in defence, with Dennis Cirkin, for example, leading the charts for the most interceptions in the Championship, per SofaScore.
Another staggering stat is the fact that Sunderland players are nowhere to be seen when examining the tackles and clearances table, and it shows that the Black Cats have not been needing to do any last-ditch defending, with most opposition attacks being succumbed by the time they reach the midfield.
There aren’t quite the stats to back it up, but front and foremost to these defensive improvements is most definitely the commitment levels amongst the squad. It is clear that these players are once again proud to play for Sunderland and their performances to kick off the season have certainly highlighted that.