Mike Dodds has had his say on whether Sunderland will make the playoffs after their defeat to Swansea City.
Sunderland started the weekend seven points from the playoff spots after enduring back-to-back defeats under Michael Beale.
After beating both Leeds United and West Brom last time out, there was suddenly hope for the Black Cats when Mike Dodds was reappointed interim manager until the end of the season.
It was Dodds’ tactics that proved successful back in December, but it was his downfall this time round as he opted to play five at the back.
Sunderland were run ragged by the Swans and found themselves 2-0 down at half-time, while it could have easily been more.
Despite pegging one back from Luke O’Nien, the Wearside outfit suffered their third successive loss and now sit eight points adrift from the top six.
With 12 games to go, Sunderland’s hopes of reaching the playoffs are looking bleak, and upcoming fixtures against Norwich, Leicester and Southampton aren’t adding much hope either.
Having already made it clear that Sunderland could still finish in the top six prior to yesterday’s clash, Mike Dodds has now offered a fresh verdict on the club’s chances.
Speaking to The Northern Echo, the 37-year-old said: “”There are still 12 games to go and I am going to be really naturally optimistic because I know we have some really good players.
“The result today isn’t going to help the push for the top six but we still have 12 games to go, I’m still confident in the way we work, I’m still confident in terms of the group we’ve got.”
Do Sunderland have what it takes?
Mike Dodds showed in those wins over Leeds and West Brom that he knows how to get this team scraping vital points, so perhaps we could have changed our tune in a couple weeks time.
However, we are really going to have to put on 12 solid performances if we are to have any chance of reaching the playoffs – whilst also hoping everyone above us has 12 stinkers.
It’s extremely unlikely, but at this stage it feels like most fans are ready to just prepare for next season anyway.