Following Sunderland’s loss to Swansea City, Mike Dodds has expressed his opinion on whether the team will advance to the playoffs.
Following back-to-back losses under Michael Beale, Sunderland began the weekend seven points outside of the playoff spots.
Mike Dodds’ reappointment as interim manager till the end of the season gave the Black Cats hope after they had recently defeated both Leeds United and West Brom.
Dodds’ strategies were effective in December, but this time around, playing five at the back, proved to be his undoing.
The Swans wore Sunderland out, and at halftime, the score was 2-0, though it could have easily been higher.
The Wearside team lost for the third time in a row, even though Luke O’Nien managed to pull one back. They are currently eight points outside of the top six.
Sunderland’s chances of making the playoffs are looking slim with 12 games remaining, and their forthcoming matches against Southampton, Norwich, and Leicester don’t give them much more hope either.
Prior to yesterday’s match, Mike Dodds had already stated that Sunderland might still place in the top six. Now, he has provided a new assessment on the team’s prospects.
The 37-year-old stated in an interview with The Northern Echo, “I am going to be really naturally optimistic because I know we have some really good players. There are still 12 games left.”
“I’m still confident in the way we work and the group we have, but the result today isn’t going to help the push for the top six. We still have 12 games left.”
Is Sunderland capable of succeeding?
Mike Dodds demonstrated his ability to persuade this team to scrape together crucial points in those victories over Leeds and West Brom, so maybe in a few weeks we could have had a different attitude.
To stand a chance of making the playoffs, though, we will need to play 12 excellent games and hope that everyone ahead of us plays 12 bad games.
Though it seems improbable at this point, most fans seem content to simply get ready for the upcoming season.