Journalist Phil Smith has defended Sunderland gem Dan Neil after the defeat against Watford.
Sunderland will be hoping to respond in positive fashion against Derby County on Tuesday evening following their poor defeat on the road against Watford.
The Black Cats looked to be a shadow of their former selves, and Jobe Bellingham was one of the many players who struggled to show up at Vicarage Road.
Alarm bells won’t quite be ringing as of yet for Regis Le Bris, who appeared to take a very cool, calm and collected approach following the defeat, which included him defending Sunderland captain Dan Neil following his late blunder that resulted in a penalty being awarded to the hosts.
Neil has received plenty of flak following his clumsy challenge that brought down the Watford attacker, with Michael Graham showing his disappointment towards the Black Cats skipper.
Fans have also shown their feelings towards Neil following his calamity moment, however he has been defended by journalist Phil Smith following what was an onslaught of Sunderland fans giving the midfielder plenty of stick.
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Phil Smith defends Dan Neil over penalty error in Sunderland vs Watford
The Black Cats eventually lost 2-1 on the road, and whilst they were on track to pick up a valuable point, they got what they deserved in the end after getting outclassed by their opponents.
Neil giving a penalty away was the pivotal moment that swung the pendulum in favour of the hosts and ultimately decided the tie.
However, Smith has defended the young midfielder on X, where he said: “Good players still make the odd mistake. Dan was given a tough task learning a new role on the job when Corry Evans did his ACL yet he’s still been absolute class 95% of the time.
“Deserves a bit of love imo – given so much to the club already.”
Should Regis Le Bris consider dropping Dan Neil after error
There were plenty of Sunderland fans calling for the captaincy to be handed back to Luke O’Nien following the defeat on their travels, and whilst this would certainly be more than a harsh decision from Le Bris, it will be much more likely if he was dropped to the bench for a run of games.
He has been somewhat out of form in recent weeks with him being overshadowed at times by the brilliant talents of Bellingham and Rigg, however there are no immediate options available to replace the Sunderland skipper.
With a fully fit squad, it would seem likely that Alan Browne would step into the fray to replace the out of form Neil, but due to the fact that the former Preston North End captain is out of action, the Black Cats captain will likely feature against Derby County.
Whilst he is most definitely going to start against Derby County, Neil’s place in the squad at this point is far from guaranteed, even with his captaincy, and Le Bris must prepare to make changes once he has a fully fit midfield if needs be.