'Boring' performance underlines the need for change & striker comments explained: Phil Smith's Sunderland conclusions

Sunderland's disappointing second half of the season continued with a defeat to Millwall at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon.

Here's Phil Smith's key conclusions from the game...

'BORING' PERFORMANCE UNDERLINES NEED FOR SUMMER CHANGE

Only Plymouth and Rotherham have scored few goals than Sunderland across their last ten games in the Championship, while Saturday's defeat to Millwall now means they have scored just one goal in their last four home games.

Internally, Sunderland's motto is 'bold, creative, industrious'. So what's happened? Sunderland's safety-first approach was easier to understand away at Leeds United and West Brom, two teams who genuinely had the attacking threat to run amok against a side low on confidence and with key players still only just returning to full fitness. After the debacle at home to Blackburn Rovers, there was also an obvious need to put some pride back in the shirt and rebuild some standards in front of the two sold-out away ends.

Here, though, was an opportunity to build some momentum and some positivity - and to try and get supporters off their seats after a dismal second half to the campaign. Instead, Sunderland's selection and approach seemed geared towards Millwall and their threats rather than trying to get on the front foot themselves.

Ironically, there was some justification for Mike Dodds' approach as Millwall's goal came shortly after he switched away from a back four, exactly the kind of counter attack he had been guarding against. And yet the goal also came after Sunderland's best spell of pressure in the game, with Adil Aouchiche and Abdoullah Ba bringing some energy to the final third and pushing Millwall back into their own box.

The decision to stick with a back three was a strange one, so too the decision to stick with it even as a half-time substitution was made. It made for a dreadful spectacle, that in part of course because a 0-0 draw was clearly an outcome that would have suited Millwall just fine. For Sunderland fans hoping for some positivity to grab onto, however, it was tough to watch.

None of this is to lay the blame entirely at Dodds' door, either. It's now a long-term trend that began with Michael Beale's appointment, with the former head coach's primary priority during his tenure clearly being defensive solidity. That is fine in of itself, but it jars completely with what Sunderland say they are trying to build and trying to do. So far, it's also produced very little in the way of consistent results.

Sunderland were flawed under Tony Mowbray in the first half of the campaign, struggling ot turn dominance of games into goals and therefore consistent wins. But they remained one of the best teams in the division to watch - that is no longer the case. Sunderland need to get back on track this summer, and it has to be a key priority for the new head coach.

SELECTION BALANCE ISN'T QUITE RIGHT AT THE MOMENT

The logic behind selecting Bradley Dack was that it was better not to give Millwall's imposing central defenders a focal point to battle against - a scrap they would invariably win. It didn't work, something Dodds conceded with his half-time sub, because Sunderland had too much off their possession too far away from the Millwall goal. The decision to play with a back five also meant there was no one close enough to Dack for him to combine with, though Dodds did say afterwards that it had not been the plan for Jobe in particular to end up so deep.

More broadly, and it is nothing against Dack personally, there is a bemusement that Sunderland continue to play players who are unlikely to be at the club next season. Dodds has struck the balance reasonably well over the last few weeks, managing to get hugely valuable game time for Chris Rigg while also picking the right environment in which to utilise Timothée Pembélé.

Both got more minutes on Saturday, and Rigg in particular is growing by the game, but it wasn't an afternoon otherwise where Sunderland learned a great deal from which they can benefit next season.

That will surely change over the next couple of games, with Tommy Watson's presence in the warm ups hopefully an indication that he is close to joining the squad as he continues to impress in the U21s.

DODDS' STRIKER COMMENTS EXPLAINED

Dodds raised some eyebrows amongst supporters after the game by suggesting that a new number nine was not necessarily the club's priority this summer.

There's no doubt that Sunderland will target a new striker this summer, they will have Mason Burstow's place in the squad to replace and the evidence of this campaign is that if Nazariy Rusyn and Eliezer Mayenda are to remain part of the senior group then they are more likely to be seen as wide players and occasional central strikers. The question is not whether Sunderland will go for a striker, as they did in the January window, but whether they will be able to find the funds to land the kind of experienced campaigner who can really make a difference.

Dodds' point was that Sunderland need more depth and quality right across the forward line, noting that the goal output from wide areas and attacking midfield has declined this season. Dodds said he couldn't hide his frustration with the struggles he and his predecessors have endured with the striking position, and made clear that the club have to address it.

EVANS MAKES A WELCOME RETURN

One of the few positives was to see Corry Evans not just return to competitive football, but look in pretty good order across his brief cameo. There was one loose early pass but thereafter the experienced campaigner was tidy and effective, a reminder of the qualities that have been so badly missed over the last year or so. If he does not stay on Wearside beyond the end of the campaign, then it's a position Sunderland simply must invest in.