'We all need..': Sunderland captain issues brilliant Wilson Isidor verdict after Burnley penalty drama
Sunderland drew 0-0 with Burnley at Turf Moor on Friday night
Dan Neil has urged everyone at Sunderland to get behind Wilson Isidor after the striker's agonising double penalty miss at Turf Moor on Friday night.
Isidor was twice denied by James Trafford in the closing stages of the 0-0 draw with Burnley, and cut a disconsolate figure as he left the field. Neil said that Isidor had been one of the key reasons why Sunderland have been able to produce such a strong campaign so far and backed the 24-year-old to bounce back and play a key part in the run in.
"What I'll say is that since Wilson came to the club, he's embraced everything about it," Neil said.
"He's stepped up to take the first one because he wants to score goals for this club and even after that disappointment, he's still stepped up. It hasn't happened for him but I think we have to commend his courage to want to put it right. He's given us a new dynamic this season, everyone can see that and I have no doubt in my mind that being the player and character he is, he'll bounce back and score a lot of goals between now and the end of the season.
"Without his goals this year we'd be in a much worse place and the fact that he wants to take penalties and score goals for us is a massive positive. We all need to get behind him now, staff, players and fans - because he's going to be a massive player for us in this run in."
Neil admitted that there was huge frustration within the dressing room that they had not been able to land the win that their performance arguably deserved, but said there were positives to take forward as the Black Cats again showed they can compete with the top teams in the division.
"We started a little bit slow in the first 10, 15 minutes but after that I thought we were the better team," Neil said.
"We had so many chances and we know we should have won the game. It's an alright point if we can make sure we go on and win on Tuesday. I said before the game and I think all the lads agreed that if we can't win, don't lose and then we stay in the race for those automatics. It's obviously disappointing because we know we had the chances to win even without the penalties. That's just how it went."