Sunderland have got their form back on track in recent weeks and are now eight games unbeaten, and Kevin Phillips has praised one individual who has been key in the turnaround.
What did he say?
The Black Cats have still looked questionable in attack at times during the run, drawing a blank against Doncaster and Bolton while scoring just once against MK Dons, and that was thanks to a brilliant 25-yard strike by Lynden Gooch.
However, they have also blown away both Lincoln and Wycombe, putting a total of seven goals past them with Charlie Wyke leading the line, and the north-east outfit are still yet to lose when the striker has started since he returned from injury in December.
Sunderland had struggled with their forwards prior to Phil Parkinson picking Wyke, as Will Grigg and Marc McNulty contributed just one and two league goals respectively.
Kyle Lafferty’s arrival indicated that Parkinson was unhappy with the options at his disposal, but his faith in Wyke seems clear, and his decision to play him has been supported by Phillips, who told Football Insider:
“I think what Wyke needs is just to play regularly. If that means that every club knows the style that you’re going to play, playing off him, it doesn’t matter, just make it work and make it difficult for teams to play against.
“He’s a handful in that league and you ask any defender, when you come up against a 6’1”, 6’2” striker that’s a handful, it’s difficult and if you’ve got players running off him, like [Chris] Maguire, it’s hard to play against.”
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Focal point
Phillips’ 116 goals for the Black Cats have made him a legend at the Stadium of Light. Fans sang his name when he was in attendance for the Boxing Day match against Bolton, and given his experience in the game he knows what it takes to cause problems as a striker.
He may have been a completely different forward to Wyke, but he played alongside Niall Quinn at Sunderland and knows the damage tall strikers can cause, and he recognises Wyke has possessing those key attributes.
The 27-year-old draws defenders towards him but often uses his strength to hold up play and find one of his wingers, with Chris Maguire and Gooch often afforded more space as a result.
He has 0.9 key passes per game to show for his efforts, a very reasonable return considering his pass accuracy is a lowly 65%, and if he can act as more of a danger in the box, where Phillips excelled, then he could be the complete striker for Parkinson, who has spoken previously of his admiration for the player.
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Adding goals will be key if the forward wants to maintain his place ahead of Lafferty, with the Northern Ireland international a similar height to Wyke, and therefore a handful for defenders also.
Meanwhile, Phil Parkinson may have made a mistake in a recent action he undertook to improve the squad.
