Sunderland ace Dan Neil has spoken about previous difficulties adjusting to his new midfield role.
The Black Cats ran out as 3-2 victors at the weekend away at Swansea City.
Despite falling to a two-goal disadvantage early on at the Swansea.com Stadium, goals from Dan Ballard, Dan Neil and Jobe Bellingham rescued all three points for Regis Le Bris’ side to cement a 3rd place position in the Championship table.
One key man in the victory was the goalscorer Neil, who made a difference in-the centre-of-the-park by breaking up play and causing trouble with his distribution, all topped off with a thunderous strike to get the Black Cats back on level terms.
The Sunderland captain has enjoyed his previous couple of games, but it hasn’t quite been smooth sailing for him throughout the 2024/25 Championship campaign, however he has admitted that he believes he has managed to get past his ‘slow’ start.
- READ MORE: Micah Richards name drops Sunderland for ‘very good’ Amad Diallo performance for Man United
Sunderland ace Dan Neil admits ‘slow’ start in No6 role and plans to make position ‘my own’
It was always going to be a difficult challenge for Neil to acclimate to a role that restricts your freedom to roam much more, and this is something that the Sunderland skipper has noticed following his self-admitted ‘slow’ start to the 2024/25 Championship campaign.
Per Sunderland Echo, Neil stated that he had noticed an improvement from himself in recent weeks, but that hasn’t been consistent throughout the term, as he said: “I think this last week, all three of my performances have been a lot better.
“A lot more on the front foot, taking the game to the opposition and getting the game by the scruff of the neck. I think the in-possession stuff has been a lot better and that’s obviously been capped off with the goal. I know deep down that I didn’t start the season very well, as a footballer you know when you’re not playing at your best.
“For me it’s just about sticking to the processes and eventually you’ll rise to your best level, and I think that’s starting to happen.
“I’ve obviously got a new role in terms of the formation and also the leadership. I think I started a little slow but I’m getting used to it every week and I think the last few seasons I’ve had a really fast start and maybe fallen away a little bit. I’m hoping that maybe this season it’s the other way round and when I get to the business end I’ll be firing on all cylinders.
“I think it’s a case of making the number six role my own.”
Dan Neil stats vs Swansea City show he has acclimatised brilliantly to new position
There is no doubt that Neil has undergone an improvement in recent weeks in regards to making the most of his new position, and the win against Swansea City truly shows just how much he has developed since the start of the campaign.
Per SofaScore, Neil managed 61 touches in the game, notching 39 accurate passes, however, defensively is where he shone, with six ground duels won out of seven, whilst also recording a 100% success rate in aerial duels.
Neil has certainly done impeccably well to adjust to a role that he was far from familiar with before Le Bris came in, and he deserves unwavering praise for taking on such a responsibility.