Following Sunderland’s consecutive defeats, Pierre Ekwah commended interim coach Mike Dodds.
It has been two weeks since Michael Beale was fired, and Mike Dodds has been promoted to replace him till the season ends.
The 37-year-old had been the only bright spot in the current season, defeating Leeds United and West Bromwich Albion while serving as temporary manager in December.
However, he has had a far tougher start this time around, losing to Swansea City and Norwich, making it four defeats in a row.
Sunderland is now nine points behind the playoff places, with challenging games against Leicester City and Southampton coming up this week.
While things haven’t gone exactly as planned under Dodds, Pierre Ekwah has lauded the coach and stated that ‘you are starting to see’ the impact he is having on the team.
Speaking to the Sunderland Echo, the Frenchman said: “It’s been great. I’ve been working with him for about a year and a half, and he’s always been good. He is currently implementing his suggestions, and you can see the results.
“Unfortunately, we did not win, which is difficult, but you can see what he’s trying to achieve, and we believe in him as a team, as he does in us, which is wonderful. We obviously have a solid foundation to do something.”
Have Sunderland improved under Mike Dodds?
I admire Mike Dodds, and he seemed like a miracle worker when he defeated Leeds United and West Brom, but I don’t think we can sugarcoat it this time.
It could be just me, but I haven’t noticed any improvements since Michael Beale left. So far, Dodds has only made questionable decisions, such as playing Callum Styles on the flank and five at the back the previous week.
It would be intriguing to see how the Black Cats do against Leicester, given his previous success against large clubs, but losing another two of matches this week will be a major issue going ahead.
I don’t think the club anticipated Dodds’ interim term going so badly, but we also don’t want to panic and bring someone else in for the rest of the season.
What is difficult to understand is why, if these guys all adore Dodds, they continue to play as if they are uninterested. Do they all plan to go in the summer?
Something is wrong, and while you can’t blame the present coach, it’s worrying that he can’t lift their spirits.
