Marco Gabbiadini has revealed what he thinks Mike Dodds is ‘trying to avoid’ saying in his Sunderland post-match pressers.
Sunderland have been mourning a dismal 1-0 defeat at home to Millwall last time out.
The lowly Lions secured their Championship status for another year with the win, boasting just 32% possession and having just the one shot on target too.
The defeat saw Sunderland fans criticising Mike Dodds after the game.
Dodds has now won just two of his 11 games as interim boss, drawing three and losing six, with the Black Cats currently sitting in 13th place of the Championship table.
What did Mike Dodds say after Sunderland 0-1 Millwall
Dodds’ post-match pressers have often been a talking point.
After the 5-1 defeat at home to Blackburn Rovers at the start of the month, Dodds let loose on his players, brandishing them but ultimately getting a reaction.
Then after the Millwall game, Dodds made some more interesting comments.
He said Sunderland were boring to watch against Millwall, with fans jumping on those comments and criticising Dodds for setting them up in a likewise shape.
“I’m angry, frustrated and annoyed,” Dodds said post-Millwall. “I feel like with the group it is one step forward and two steps back. I felt in recent weeks that are performances were really professional and we looked like a really solid outfit.”
He added:
“I’m angry because we didn’t create enough chances and I was bored watching us if I am being completely honest. I just told the group in there that I didn’t enjoy watching the team.”
Marco Gabbiadini rues lacklustre Sunderland under Mike Dodds
And reacting to those comments ahead of the Championship clash vs Watford this weekend, former Sunderland striker and now BBC pundit Gabbiadini said:
“What you’ve got to do is play quickly. You’ve got to hit diagonal balls across the back-four, or have runners going in behind, or if your wingers are getting in to the deep areas, have people overlapping them or going inside them as support runners, and fill the box with bodies… They’re all the things that we’ve not been doing all season, and I think for a lot of the players it hasn’t come naturally to them.
“So that’s the issues you’ve got to address, and I think that’s what Mike Dodds is trying to avoid saying because it sort of goes against the message. I think there is a message, a planned message that the club gives out and part of that isn’t to admit that we are massively lacking in firepower.”
Tony Mowbray comments may provide the answer
Tony Mowbray on more than one occasion spoke out on the club’s transfer policy.
Back in August last year, he revealed his frustration at the club’s struggles in signing a striker, and upon his sacking, there were widespread rumours on social media that Mowbray speaking out on transfers and speaking up to the board was a major factor behind his dismissal.
So maybe Gabbiadini is right.
Maybe Dodds is holding back what he really thinks for fear of his future position at the club.
Dodds is widely expected to remain on the coaching staff going into next season under the new manager, but if Dodds starts criticising the club or their transfers, then it probably won’t do him any favours.
It may suggest a bit of tension behind the scenes at Sunderland.
But one thing is for certain and that’s that Sunderland really need to get a lot of things right in the summer; the managerial appointment and the player recruitment more than anything.
Watford vs Sunderland kicks off at 3pm on Saturday.