Sunderland interim coach Mike Dodds has explained what the problem is with Nazariy Rusyn.
Sunderland waited five months before a recognised striker scored a goal for them this season, with Nazariy Rusyn netting in the 2-0 win over Preston on New Year’s Day.
The Ukrainian then went onto bag the equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough a month later.
However, he has managed to start only four games since he got off the mark and hasn’t really looked like finding the back of the net in recent games, while he is yet to make it a full 90 minutes on the pitch since joining the club.
While Rusyn has been accepted as Sunderland’s most talented striker, Mike Dodds has admitted that there is still one big problem with him that is preventing him from really impressing on Wearside.
When asked which position he thinks Rusyn should play in, Dodds told Sunderland Echo: “It’s a good question, I think he can play in all three positions.
“What Naz does give you, he’s a really honest player. You know he’s going to give you 100%. This is not an excuse because I would never make excuses, there is, not an issue, but his English is limited. So in terms of being really clear with what you want, that’s a speed bump for us. But he trains properly, he wants to get better.
“I think he can play in all three areas. Naz doesn’t really have any preference. He seems himself as a front half of the pitch player. I can see him playing all three positions.
“We decided to do something today and unfortunately we didn’t get him in the areas of the pitch we wanted to get him in.”
Where should Nazariy Rusyn play?
Nazariy Rusyn has definitely been our most impactful and positive striker this season, and still hasn’t really been given the run in the team that he deserves.
However, his display against Swansea City that saw him end up out wide quite a lot suggests that perhaps that is where we should be playing him.
While Jack Clarke could potentially return this weekend, if he is out then we could look to play Rusyn on the wing and instead give Luis Hemir Semedo a chance to impress from the start.
After three successive defeats, Dodds needs to try something new and this could be the key to the problem.
As for the issue with him not speaking in English, it bodes well for how effective he could be when he settles in further.
The 25-year-old is definitely missing something to his game at the moment, but he has looked very bright and I think we could definitely see a huge improvement from him next season. But we definitely shouldn’t abandon all hope anytime soon, and I think we could instead see him tested out across the front three.