Dan Neil says he understands the 'doom and gloom' at Sunderland last season

Supporting Sunderland was a painful pursuit towards the end of last season, and Dan Neil says he understands why the fans were feeling down about the club.

Sunderland captain Dan Neil / IMAGO / Pascu Mendez

Dan Neil has says he understood the ‘doom and gloom’ that surrounded Sunderland in the second half of last season, but he thinks bad luck played a major part.

Sunderland had a promising first half to the campaign but they sank like a stone after sacking Tony Mowbray in December.

That say a drop from sixth to sixteenth, with performances steadily getting worse and more depressing as the season agonizingly crept to an abysmal end.

However, Neil says bad luck played a big part in that, with injuries to Jack Clarke, Patrick Roberts, Dennis Cirkin and Aji Alese big factors in what happened.

“I think we were dealt a tough hand towards the back end of last year," Neil said.

"Jack Clarke, who was our main goal threat, got injured, Pat Roberts was in and out of the team all year with injuries, Dennis and Aji were in and out of the team all year with injuries, Dan Ballard and Luke [O’Nien] got suspended at similar times.

“We just couldn’t manage to pick up any rhythm or form in the second half of the season. It was really tough, and I can understand the doom and gloom that was there towards the end of last season.

“It was kind of the same for us as well because we weren’t picking up results and we were falling further and further away from where we wanted to be.

“But the core of the squad has always been there. We know the talent that there is within the group, and this is most of the lads’ third year in the Championship. We’ve got two years of experience now, and I think everyone has grown into the league.

“We know what to expect from the league now. Obviously, we know the Championship can be unpredictable, but we have experienced a lot now and I think that’s really helped us. Maybe last year will turn out to have been a blessing in disguise.

“Maybe we wouldn’t have won that game [against Cardiff] last season, but I think the togetherness we showed just shows that we’ve learned from last year in these types of games."