Sunderland will be looking to return to winning ways when they take on relegation-battling Queens Park Rangers in the Sky Bet Championship tomorrow afternoon.
Mike Dodds spoke to the media ahead of the match...
The Interim Head Coach on Saturday’s opponents...
“The new coach has come in and made them really hard to play against and they have had some positive results.
“They went away to Leicester and won 2-1 and they are a completely different QPR to the team we played earlier this season.
“As I always say, there aren't any easy games in this league so we're going to have to be really good to get a result.”
On squad morale...
“I think one thing with football is as long as the players have complete clarity and they are seeing progression, I think you can keep them going in the right direction.
“I think that's what we have with this group, whenever we review a game, we always review against what was our objective in the game.
“We provide a huge amount of clarity to them in terms of expectations as an individual and group and there has been a level of progress.”
On a tough period...
“I'm going to keep working with the players and I'm going to make sure the plan and the process is really strong.
“We're going to make sure the players are really clear in terms of the game plan. We have to come through this period, and we'll be stronger for it.”
Dodds highlighted his belief in the players...
“I'm really confident in the way I work and I'm really confident in the way I coach. I’ve got a really good feeling and vibe from the players that they're completely behind what we are trying to do.
“I've seen enough in the games, not consistently, but I've seen enough in the games for me to have a real belief in what we're doing is right.
“We are going to win a game of football and when we do win, it will snowball.”