safc.com catch up with club captain John O’Shea as Sunderland switch their focus to Wednesday’s Premier League clash at Middlesbrough.
The skipper reviews Saturday’s performance against West Ham United, reserves special praise for Wahbi Khazri and Lee Cattermole, and previews a ‘must-win’ trip to the Riverside Stadium.
John, you returned to the line-up for the draw against West Ham United, what was the overall feeling within the dressing room following the game?
JO: “I think we were disappointed. We gave ourselves too much to do by going behind on two occasions, and if we’d gone ahead at any stage of the game I’m confident we would have seen it through. Performance-wise there was plenty of positives but we know we’re at the stage now where wins are key and that has to be our total focus ahead of the Middlesbrough game.”
As you said, we found ourselves chasing the game on two occasions which made three points a tough ask, but plenty to build on heading into next week’s trip to the Riverside.
JO: “We have to take it one game at a time and next up its Boro. It’ll be a difficult game but we know we have to go there and win the game – it’s as simple as that if we want to stay in the Premier League.”
Talking of positives, credit to Wahbi Khazri for stepping up to the plate and delivering…
JO: “His performances in training have been important and that’s why he’s been selected. He took his chance and we all know about his delivery from set pieces – it doesn’t get much better than Saturday! That’s going to be key for us in the games going forward and it was an important goal for us because we hadn’t been scoring. Now we need to keep going and go back to getting clean sheets.”
I remember speaking to you ahead of the Norwich City game last season, and it’s a similar scenario heading into the next game. Fair to say only a win will do…
JO: “That’s definitely the case. It was also similar when we went down to Palace because we had to win that game too, but we know since then there’s been too many games where we should have got better results. We haven’t and that means we are where we are, so we have to do something about it against Middlesbrough."
An intimidating atmosphere awaits and a game to savour with both teams gunning for victory…
JO: “Exactly. We saw the game against Arsenal and they caused them problems. It was a decent performance and they were unable to take anything from it, so, just like we will be, they’ll be targeting three points on Tuesday. It’s away from home and it’ll be a real derby atmosphere, but they’re the games you want to be a part of. We’re all looking forward to it.”
One player who will be looking forward to it more than most is Lee Cattermole as he returns to his former club. How much of a lift has it been, both on and off the pitch, to have him back in the thick of the action?
JO: “Catts has been a big part of the club for so long and it’s great to have him back. He’s a presence and when you talk about the atmosphere around the place, he always makes sure everyone stays on top of their performances and we miss that, as well as everything else he brings to the team. Hopefully he can stay fit until the end of the season and have that positive impact.”