Dan Neil delivers brilliantly honest verdict on his Sunderland form and outlines contract stance

At the final whistle, a moment for Dan Neil to saviour.

Despite being the latest Sunderland player to go down with a sickness bug, he had been a key architect in a superb comeback win and scored his first goal of the campaign in the process. 'He's one of our own' rang out from the sold-out away end as Neil pumped his fist.

By his own admission, it has not been an easy campaign for Neil so far even if the team's direction of travel has been positive. The twin challenges of a new role at the base of Sunderland's midfield and a new role as the head of Sunderland's on-pitch leadership group have at times made it harder for him to be at his dynamic best. His place in the side has never been in doubt, Régis Le Bris loves his consistency and willingness to try and fix the team's issues on the pitch. But here was some evidence that the 23-year-old is finding a way to find that extra gear.

"I think this last week, all three of my performances have been a lot better," Neil said.

"A lot more on the front foot, taking the game to the opposition and getting the game by the scruff of the neck. I think the in-possession stuff has been a lot better and that's obviously been capped off with the goal. I know deep down that I didn't start the season very well, as a footballer you know when you're not playing at your best. For me it's just about sticking to the processes and eventually you'll rise to your best level, and I think that's starting to happen.

"I've obviously got a new role in terms of the formation and also the leadership. I think I started a little slow but I'm getting used to it every week and I think the last few seasons I've had a really fast start and maybe fallen away a little bit. I'm hoping that maybe this season it's the other way round and when I get to the business end I'll be firing on all cylinders."

Neil was notably more advanced for large parts of this second half than he has been for much of this campaign, a sign of his growing confidence that he can marry the discipline of the number six position with the forward-thinking style that underpinned his initial rise to prominence.

"I think it's a case of making the number six role my own," Neil said.

"Maybe at times I've been caught up a little bit in playing a more traditional number six role: one, two touch. I think everyone who has watched me over the last few years knows that's not really my game. I like to drive forward with the ball, I like to roll outside the lines. I think it's just been a case of finding the right balance between playing the way I want to play it while making sure it's right for the structure we have in the team. I think I've found that balance better this week so it's just a case of keeping at it."

While contract discussions have also been going on with the club in the background of the opening weeks and months of the campaign, Neil is clear that he does not think that this has impacted his on-pitch work. Neil is approaching the final 18 months of his current deal and so Sunderland would naturally like to extend. As of yet there has been no breakthrough but Neil's focus is squarely on completing the journey he set out on when he made his debut in the Papa John's Trophy: to get Sunderland back to where they belong.

"It's not really had an impact on me," Neil said.

"In terms of the contract stuff, my only goal is to get us promoted this season. That's everyone's goal this season and we just need to keep plugging away. All that [contract talk etc] is background noise, I'm here and all I'm interested in is those automatic places and getting us promoted back to the Premier League.”

To that end, an unbeaten week has been a major boost to Sunderland's credentials and a platform for the Black Cats to take on the crucial festive period.

"We said as a group after November, which wasn't the best month with not winning, though obviously we only lost at Sheffield United where there's an argument we could have won, and certainly deserved a point," Neil said.

"We said that December was going to be a really big month and if we can stay around that top two, stay within touching distance going into January we've got every chance going down the stretch. We did it getting into the play-offs two years ago, a different scenario but we kept plugging away and did it on the last day. It's a big month for us and we've had a good week. That point on Tuesday night looks like a big one now. It's been a really good week but there's still some big games left for us this month."