The alarming stat Phil Parkinson wants to improve as he responds to Sunderland concerns

Two disappointing cup defeats were one thing, but a meek performance against MK Dons was another.

The opening weeks of the season had seen a resolute side give up few chances to their opponents. The question was whether Phil Parkinson's style and system would produce the attacking results required to push into the top two.

Against Russell Martin's side, Sunderland were not convincing at either end of the pitch.

Concerns are growing.

A rare midweek without a fixture allowed Parkinson a chance to reflect. Asked about his side's attacking approach and where they stand, he stood largely behind the view he has presented for much of the season.

Chance creation and the balance of the side, he insists, it is not the problem.

Conversion is the issue, and one statistic jumped out to him.

The challenge for his players has been firmly laid out.

"We went through all the stats with the players this week," he explained.

"In a lot of categories where you need to be at the top, we are in the top or two or three.

"Shots against, clean sheets, crosses into the box, quality of crosses, chances created, expected goals...

"But the one where we are falling short is the % of our shots that we're getting on target. So a lot of the balance of our play is good, but we have to improve that.

"We have the players capable of doing it.

"We've looked at it closely, and what we need to do. Individually, if you're below where are and where we need to be, you've got to up your % to help the team.

"I do feel if we tidy up that area of the game... I don't see many teams creating the clear chances that we've created.

"We know what we've got to do, we know what the good parts of our game are.

"After the Ipswich win we were in a really good place, the cup games and the MK Dons defeat have knocked us off our stride a little but it's up to us to get going again.

"I'm confident we can."

These statistics have been key to Parkinson presenting his view; that much of what his team are doing is good.

It's why even as scrutiny increases, he is showing few signs of wanting to change course considerably.

There were, though, some pointed signals of a rotation in personnel as Elliot Embleton nears fitness and others wait for a chance.

"The most important stat is the goals we are scoring, but the expected goals tells you about the quality of chances we are creating this season," he said.

"We are top of the division for that.

"I firmly believe that while we don't want to pressure players, because that can create tension, we've got to look at every aspect we can to improve that.

"I think there's a lot more to come from a lot of players in the squad.

"I think we've got a core of players who've had a good, solid, start to the season but there's more to come from others in the group and I'm looking forward to seeing it.

"It's our job to analyse and look closely at we're doing in terms of the balance of play, the personnel, the shape of the team.

"The data can help back that up.

"It's important that we don't make radical changes for the sake of it when the key part of our play that has not hit the heights that it needs to is that % of shots on target.

"To get to where we need to be, that's got to improve.

"We've put the challenge to the lads this week, this is what we're going to do on the training ground, this is what we've got to do to improve it. I firmly believe that we've got the players who will do that.

"As I've said, there are a core of players who've had a good start to the season, but there are others who are still ready to emerge and get their season going.

"I think when that happens, we'll start to push on again.

"We've had a little dip, it happens. You've got to keep an element of calmness when you don't win games, it's not that you don't care or that you're not passionate, it's just that you've got to look at things in the cold light of day and assess what you need to get better at."

A year ago, it was at Doncaster Rovers that Parkinson began to turn around his flatlining tenure.

The situation now is nowhere near as extreme, but the similarities are not lost on him.

"There are similarities because leading up to that game, we'd had a couple of cup defeats.

"This time we've been knocked out of our stride after being in a good vein of form off the back of the win against Ipswich.

"Last year, we hadn't really got it going to the level that we would have liked, though there were certainly signs of it.

"This week, it has been about looking at what we've done in the season so far as a whole, what we've done in the last couple of weeks and what we need to do better.

"We're all hugely disappointed when we lose a game, it ruins the weekend at the very least, but by Monday you've got to be ready to look at everything and go again, to move forward collectively.

"Going back to last year, that's what we did.

"We had a couple of games going back to that Doncaster game, and there was a lot of disappointment. But we looked at it and said, 'a lot of it was OK, can we improve in these areas to be more effective?'

"In a small way, we are in a similar position to that."

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