'You’re not replacing Jack Clarke' - Sunderland boss delivers 'important message' to fans

Mike Dodds says the Jack Clarke injury can't be an excuse for Sunderland, but he also knows it is unrealistic to expect anyone to be able to step up and replace him.

Mike Dodds says he will ‘not allow’ the Jack Clarke injury to be used as an excuse for the defeat to Swansea, although he says no one should be criticised for not stepping up in his absence.

Nazariy Rusyn, Abdoullah Ba and Romaine Mundle all spent some time in the left wing position against the Swans, although none of them really came close to replacing him.

Dodds, though, says no one in the Championship really can replace Clarke due to his level, and he says he has to take some of the blame as well for the total tactical mess in the first half.

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“No, I think there’s a level of responsibility on me as well,” Dodds said when asked if he was worried that no one stepped up in Clarke’s absence.

“We can say that no-one really grabbed the opportunity [to replace Jack], the first half performance was really, really disappointing. The second half performance is a lot more of what we all want to see.

“I’m not using Jack as an excuse, I won’t allow it to be used as an excuse. The thing with Jack is, Jack’s not just a good player for us. We’re probably talking about the best winger in the league.

“We’re not just talking about a one-off player. We’re talking about one of the best players in the league, if not the best winger in the league. Let’s be honest, you’re not replacing Jack Clarke.”

The result will obviously raise longer-term concerns among Sunderland fans about how the club will fare when Clarke inevitable leaves in the summer.

Dodds, though, has confidence that the Black Cats already have the talent in the building to ‘make sure they get another Jack Clarke’ – they just need the time to develop it.

“One thing I will say, and this is really important: when Jack Clarke came to the football club, Jack Clarke wasn’t Jack Clarke now. That’s a really important message and we have to make sure that message is really clear with the likes of Romaine and Abdoullah and Naz.

“I appreciate there will be some frustration amongst the fans and I wish I could fast-forward time. But Jack Clarke, when he came to the football club, wasn’t the Jack Clarke we see now.

“That’s a message people need to, not necessarily understand because they’re fans and they want to win games of football, but from where I’m sitting we’ve got to make sure we work with the other players to make sure we get another Jack Clarke.”

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