'10 Luke O'Niens' - Ex-Sunderland star outlines key reason for 'unusual' Coventry City defeat

Former Sunderland player Kieron Brady has claimed that part of the reason Coventry City brushed aside the Black Cats so easily on Saturday afternoon was because their players put in the effort of “10 Luke O’Niens” at the CBS Arena.

The Stadium of Light stalwart, who recently passed the 300-game mark for Sunderland, has carved out a reputation for himself as a committed on-field battler with a penchant for putting his body on the line in an effort to aid the Black Cats’ cause. Nevertheless, O’Nien was unable to prevent his side from slumping to a 3-0 defeat in the West Midlands at the weekend, and Brady is of the opinion that it was Coventry’s collective ability to embody the grit and spirit that the Sunderland defender has become synonymous with that helped them to such an emphatic result.

Speaking on Roker Report’s Ha’way the Podcast, the pundit said: “It wouldn't necessarily be that they [Sunderland] didn't want it but they didn't want it anywhere near as much as Coventry. Of course within football, within wider sport, often the pertinent question isn't do you want it, because that can be answered verbally. It's how much do you want it and what are you prepared to do in order to achieve it?

“It's very difficult over the course of this season to put forward the theory that Sunderland are lacking in effort and application. I don't believe that's the case. As you know it's one of the worst things that a player or a team can be accused of. Of course I think there's probably been justification in citing that in the past regarding Sunderland but not at this moment. I think it would be potentially beneficial if Regis Le Bris made the players sit down and watch that game - I know that's a cliche but it's a wonderful demonstration in the little differences in the little individual battles between two competing players... [and how those nuances] can have such a positive or a negative effect over the course of a game.

The Echo has launched a new WhatsApp SAFC Channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates direct to your phone. Simply click this link to join our SAFC WhatsApp channel.

“When you think of Luke O’Nien - if we all agree that Sunderland players generally give 100%, then why is it that Luke O’Nien gets a lot more credit in that respect than almost any other player? And the reason for that quite often is that Luke O’Nien’s 100% is very visible. What Coventry had yesterday... they had basically 10 Luke O’Niens doing their jobs and getting in and about it, whereas maybe even Luke O’Nien himself didn't look quite like the Luke O’Nien that has grown so much since [his debut] back against Charlton Athletic when he looked like a lost boy at the Stadium of Light.

“So it was a highly irregular performance in a whole host of ways - not only in terms of the individual and collective performance but also the outcome because this is not a side that over the course of this season has grown used to losing games by three goals. Some people might say that as an ex-player I’ve been a little bit kind, but this was unusual, and the whole notion of a bad day at the office I think could be applied.”

Your next Sunderland read: Ex-Sunderland, Sheffield United and Portsmouth man reveals interesting new off-field role in Australia