All seems logical.. MARTIN OâNEILL has focused on ensuring Sunderland are braced for Blackburnâs set-piece assault during his first week at the Academy of Light. But the new Sunderland boss insists it will be a case of evolution not revolution in re-moulding the Black Cats on the training ground after succeeding the dismissed Steve Bruce. OâNeill is keen not to overwhelm his players with new ideas by scrapping the systems put in place by Bruce and starting from scratch. But one thing the ex-Celtic boss believes can be done in the short-term is preparing Sunderland for Blackburnâs set piece threat on Sunday. Two of the four goals Steve Keanâs men scored in last weekendâs victory over Swansea stemmed from Morten-Gamst Pedersen corners. And considering Sunderland have conceded seven times already this season from deadball situations, OâNeill has spent his first week making sure the Black Cats are ready for their fellow strugglers. OâNeill told the Echo: âWe all know what sort of pressure can be exerted from Blackburn, particularly from set-pieces. âWe have to try to make sure that part of our game is as strong as it can be. âBut Iâm not so sure, even if you wanted to, you would change things overnight. Players take a bit of time. âI was a player myself and for instructions to get through, even with the best manager we had in Brian Clough, he used to say it would take an awful long time for ideas to get through. âWhile we desperately need overnight results, the style of play here might not effectively change for some time.â OâNeill saw a reflection of Sunderlandâs season from the stands at Wolves last weekend after seeing the Black Cats lose 2-1 from a winning position for the second successive game. With Sunderland lying just a place and a point above third bottom Blackburn, OâNeill knows his new charges need to get some victories under their belts. âI went to Wolves with a really open mind about it,â said OâNeill. âIt was just interesting to hear Eric (Black, former assistant manager) tell me about it after the game. âHe felt it was a microcosm of the season so far. âThere were really good passages of play when you look as if youâre doing fine, but next thing you canât get the goal, then you concede and things tumble around you. âWhen the confidence is not high, you could see it coming. âWigan was a game we should have won and didnât do and then to throw all the points away against Wolves, even with the penalty decision, you should still not get beaten. âBut itâs happened and itâs something you have to rectify. âWe need points on the board because weâve got 11 from 14 games and itâs not the best stat.â
Unfortunately we are quite prolific in both. The biggest difference in O'Neill and Bruce is clear to see in that interview, not once as O'Neill blamed the wind, the fans, Greggs for serving up cold pasty's, the referee, the referee's assesor etc. O'Neill is focused on rectifying problems. Bruce's approach was just to plough on during problems and things will be alright in the end. A refreshing change.
