Sunderland's Jack Clarke celebrates his goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sunderland and Norwich City at the Stadium Of Light, Sunderland on Saturday 28th October 2023. (Photo by Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
MIKE Dodds is sure that he will not lose sight of how he wants his Sunderland team to play in the absence of star player Jack Clarke.
Dodds has admitted he might have to tinker with the set-up and experiment in the coming weeks, with Clarke ruled out until April with ankle ligament damage.
But he insists his side won’t take a backwards step and will be positive in their approach, even without their top scorer in the side.
“I think there’s got to be a strapline in all the games as to what Sunderland are,” said Dodds.
“I don’t think we can be passive in any of the games. I got asked about the Leeds game where the question implied that we sat off them and if you watch that game back, we denied them space but when the ball went into certain areas of the pitch we were really aggressive and we were a little bit more on the front foot.
“So it might be a case that we might have to concede some territory, but in terms of a Sunderland team, we can’t be passive and we won’t be passive how we approach the game.”
Sunderland’s Championship play-off hopes have faded after three defeats on the bounce and the chances of a second successive top six finish were further dented after this week’s Clarke setback. Dodds described the injury as a “crushing blow” but is relishing the challenge ahead, starting at Norwich tomorrow.
He said: “Regardless of Jack Clarke or not, we still have a running thread of how we want Sunderland to look and that’s something that’s going to be my responsibility for the next 12 games to find a solution to that.
“To be honest, I’m looking forward to the challenge of that, it’s going to be a real challenge for me and I think it would be a real challenge for the most experienced coach who could sit here.
“When you take someone of his quality out of your armoury, you can have the most experienced coach in the world sat here and it would be a challenge, but that’s something I’m looking forward to over the next period and it’s something where I won’t leave any stone unturned to find a solution to make sure that we go into every single game with a mindset that we’re going to win the game.”
