Sunderland players ‘don’t trust’ this one teammate following the defeat vs Leicester City, it has been claimed.
Sunderland lost 1-0 vs Leicester City in midweek, handing Mike Dodds‘ side a fifth-straight defeat in the Championship.
Dodds has now lost all three of his opening games in what is a third spell as interim boss, after Sunderland sacked Michael Beale last month.
The Black Cats could now break an unwanted 18-year record this weekend if they lose against Southampton, having not lost six games in a row since the 2005/06 season.
And in what seems like an age old debate for Sunderland now, who starts up front remains to be seen.
Sunderland striker woes summed up by Luis Hemir
Luis Hemir has led the line for Sunderland in the last two outings.
He remains a player with bags of potential and he could one day fill the void left by Ross Stewart last summer.
But right now it’s tough for the 20-year-old; he’s not scored in 18 Championship appearances for the Black Cats and has failed to make an impact in the last two games which he’s started.
Giving his verdict on the Portuguese striker, journalist James Copley suggested that Hemir looked frustrated against Leicester in midweek, and that the Sunderland players maybe don’t trust Hemir just yet.
Copley said on the Road Podcast:
“I thought Hemir was really isolated… His body language, he looked frustrated. Sunderland don’t look to play to his feet. They don’t look to play in behind. They clearly don’t trust him, I don’t think, at the moment. Hopefully that’s something that can maybe grow. Is he showing enough? Is he doing enough running? Is he making enough of the right runs? I’m not convinced of that either.”
Patience needed by all where Hemir is concerned
There’s a sense with Hemir that, sooner or later, things will quickly fall into place.
It might just take one good performance to kickstart a positive run of form, or a goal of any kind to give him the confidence to go on and score more.
But like Copley suggests, there seems to be a bit of disconnect in the Sunderland attack right now.
Hemir is inexperienced and still cutting his teeth in the Championship, so it might be understandable that the midfielders and wide players look for other options before giving the ball to Hemir.
It’s natural when a player isn’t firing and it’s hard for Hemir who’s tasked with so much when playing up front on his own, and without Jack Clarke or Alex Pritchard behind him.
All that Hemir can do is keep his head down and keep on working.
Frustration shows that he cares but it can also distract him in games. Dodds clearly believes in him and Hemir will want to repay that faith, though whether he’s done enough in the past two games to warrant a start vs Southampton this weekend remains to be seen.
Nazariy Rusyn could well come back into the side, though whether he can make a difference remains to be seen.