Jobe Bellingham has hailed Sunderland fans as ‘unreal’, six months after joining the club.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the midfielder heaped praise on the Black Cats’ rendition of ‘Wise Men Say’.
Jobe Bellingham has been an ever present figure in Sunderland’s team since arriving on a permanent deal from Birmingham City in the summer.
The youngster has very quickly become a fan favourite, netting his three goals of the campaign on home soil against Rotherham United and Birmingham.
The Sunderland faithful have continued to cheer him on at the Stadium of Light, while Jobe has suggested that it is one thing that the supporters do prior to kickoff that really prepares him for battle.
The England U19 international has applauded the club’s Elvis Presley anthem, having previously sung it for his initiation shortly after his move up north.
When asked about the tune, Jobe said: “Yeah it’s unreal, when the fans sing it so loud. It’s incredible, the support we get, and that song is so special to me.”
The atmosphere at Sunderland can be tantalising at times, and ‘Wise Men Say’ really gets both the players and the crowd going – especially during fond memories such as the League One play-off final.
We need to be able to keep up that atmosphere after kick-off, because sometimes the players really need our help to liven the game up and push them onto victory.
Thankfully, players like Jobe seem to find their own motivation. That’s one huge positive about having such a young squad – they are already full of excitement and drive.
Should we be relying on Jobe this much?
While he has looked rather tired at times, the 18-year-old has been brilliant for us this term.
He has already played between midfield and up front and looks likely to take up that false 9 role again against Leeds United.
While Sunderland’s strikers have been really struggling, Jobe seems very confident in front of goal and looked a threat against West Brom – while he should have scored his fourth of the campaign if it wasn’t for the terrible officiating.
We still need to avoid overworking him though. Tony Mowbray already addressed that but continued to play him, while it now looks like he could be stuck out of position until we find a way of bagging goals elsewhere.
Hopefully when a new manager arrives he will know exactly what to do with Jobe, and exactly how to get the best out of the four forwards that are yet to get off the mark.