Sunderland journalist Phil Smith has been sharing some details on the current behind-the-scenes mood at the Wearside club as a result of their current League One form.
This comes after Smith made a guest appearance on a recent episode of The Totally Football League Show where he spoke about a variety of subjects concerning the Black Cats.
On the subject of the current mood at Sunderland, Smith had this to say on the matter.
He said: “I would say right now there is a little bit of concern about not going into the play-offs. I think you’d be daft not to have that given the run that they’re on. I think it’s more a concern about what shape Sunderland might be in if they do go into the play-offs if that makes sense.
“I think that’s a bigger concern than getting there themselves. Like I say, those two late goals and just more kind of classic League One twists, I think that feels unlikely that they’ll miss out on the play-offs.
“I suppose the mood is probably somewhere between mournful and furious, I guess at the last few games, and there’s definitely a lot of concern about what kind of shape they’ll be in if they do get into the play-offs.”
TIF Thoughts on Phil Smith’s comments on the current mood at Sunderland…
So far this season, Lee Johnson’s side have won 19 out of the 44 league games they’ve played so far, drawing 16 and losing nine along the way, leaving them currently in fourth place on 73 points, two points behind Lincoln City and two points above Blackpool (per BBC Sport).
Given how Sunderland have failed to pick up a league win in any of their five previous games, it’s easy to see why the mood at the club isn’t particularly positive at the moment and why this form doesn’t put the team in a good place if they do make it to the play-offs.
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Also, with Johnson’s side having managed to concede nine goals throughout those previous five games, it seems that their defence is letting them down at the moment, which could be a factor for the current concern at the club.
In our view, Sunderland will need a quick turnaround in their fortunes if they want to put this poor form behind them and the best way of doing that would be to pick up three points and put in a solid performance during their upcoming league match against Plymouth Argyle.
In other news: ‘Could certainly cause us problems’ – Barker drops worrying Sunderland play-off claim