'He reminds me of..' Luke O'Nien compared to Sunderland legend

The former Wycombe Wanderers man is comfortable in a range of positions, both defence and midfield and his 100% commitment to the cause has been praised by former Sunderland midfielder Alex Rae.

He has compared O’Nien to club legend Kevin Ball and say he's a model footballer and others should take note.

Rae was speaking to Grosvenor Sport.

He said: “Luke has been at the club for a number of years now and has managed to accumulate excellent numbers. He's not far off a couple of hundred games for the club and that's the bracket where fans will love him.

“I like a lot of what Luke O'Nien brings to the table. He's dogged, resilient and he reminds me of my old skipper Kevin Ball in a lot of ways. He's very competitive, gives it his all and he can play a bit too so when you look at that, he's a player you'd want to build others around because he's a model of consistency.”

Sunderland host Hull City on Good Friday prior to the Easter Monday trip to Cardiff City.

And O’Nien says Sunderland still have one eye on the play-offs as they head into the final games of the season.

Following last season’s promotion from League One, Sunderland were as high as fourth in the table in January, yet results have tailed off in recent weeks.

O’Nien joked: “We were in the Champions League spots at one time.

“The aim is still the same. We go into every game wanting to pick up all the points.”