Regis Le Bris of Sunderland shakes hands with Dan Neil of Sunderland
Captain Dan Neil has been picked out as the biggest positive in Sunderland’s campaign so far as the club aims for promotion. The skipper has been one of the shining lights this term in what has been a great season so far.
Neil came through the ranks at the Stadium of Light to skipper his boyhood side. The central midfielder has gone on to make 34 appearances in the Championship so far this season, helping Sunderland in their surprise bid for automatic promotion to the Premier League.
His performances haven't gone unnoticed elsewhere. Everton have been linked with a move for the midfielder, with ex-Sunderland boss David Moyes understood to be a fan of the 23-year-old. The Toffees could make a move for the player in the summer.
Football League World’s Black Cats expert Jordan Newcombe believes that Neil’s performances since being handed the captain’s armband have been standout in an impressive Sunderland team.
Newcombe told the outlet: “The player that surprised me most, and this is going to be positive, I’m going to say Dan Neil. Obviously it’s been a massive step for him, being captain, and the first couple of games he was absolutely unbelievable when it came to playing at the start of the season.
“And then he had a little dip in his performances, a few games after that. But most games now he is going in, he’s letting them know early, he’s doing well, he’s holding up the ball great, he’s defending the ball great.
“He moves into that back four if [Luke] O’Nien moves up the pitch. He’s composed, he knows what he needs to do and if he needs to drop back he knows where he needs to be. He knows when to shoot, when not to shoot, or when to take a chance.
“Obviously a player can make the odd mistake here and there, but overall he has been absolutely quality after that little spell and run of poor performances.”
Regis Le Bris made the bold step of naming Neil captain at the start of the season, despite O’Nien, who often wore the armband the season prior, remaining at the club. And he stuck with him despite some below-par performances early on.
Despite being stripped of the captaincy, O’Nien has remained a regular starter under Le Bris, primarily playing at centre-back but also using his versatility by being deployed at full-back. Although there was talk on the terraces questioning if Neil could deal with the added pressure of captaining the side, Newcombe feels the midfielder has been unaffected by the armband.
“A lot of people would have thought that the captaincy would have been too much, when for me, knowing him for years on a personal scale, stuff like that hasn’t really bothered him, when it came to if he was captain or if he wasn’t,” he continued.
“He’s a strong-minded lad, and if he wants to try and do something, he will put all his effort into doing it, give 100 per cent. It shows now, that even if he has a few bad performances, which all players do – what a lot of people tend to forget – they just like to pick and choose at times – he really puts his head and his heart into his game.
“Especially for the team he plays for, and I think that is one of the things that makes a captain, a captain as well.
“I think you see that with O’Nien as well, but the one that surprised me more is Dan because he hasn’t let the captaincy go to his head.
“He always does a huddle at the start of the game to let the boys know, to encourage the boys what to do, and no matter if we go, 1-0, 2-0, we keep our heads up and fight for the match – and that’s what we tend to do.
“I think Dan has been the best, positive player this season. He strives for everything, and that proves why he should be captain.”