Exclusive:Kevin Phillips has Brian Brobbey Sunderland message ahead of 'must-win' Coventry City game
Kevin Phillips has a Brian Brobbey message for Sunderland.
Sunderland legend Kevin Phillips would like to see Regis Le Bris experiment with two strikers up front to relieve some of the pressure from Brian Brobbey.
Sunderland are bottom of the Premier League and head to fellow strugglers Coventry City on Saturday afternoon knowing a victory is vital to kick-start their league campaign ahead of another Europa League week.
When asked if it made sense for Sunderland to try playing two strikers given the focus Brobbey receives from defenders, Phillips told the Echo via BestBettingSites.co.uk : “There's a big argument for that. I watched them live on Sunday. Of course, the focus from defenders is on Brobbey, but whether you play with another striker or that 10 in terms of Enzo Le Fée, whoever plays in that 10 has to get close to Brobbey and find the spaces.
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“I’ve spoken about playing two strikers before. The manager's reluctant; he only does it when they're chasing a game. I think the fans would love to see him start with maybe Isidor and Brobbey up top, to look after those defenders and give space for everyone else. But at the moment, whoever plays just off Brobbey has to find the space, because they can't keep relying on him to get the goals.”
Ahead of the trip to Coventry City, Phillips added: “I think it's a must-win for Sunderland, and a big, big game for Coventry as well, a six-pointer early on. Listen, Coventry have got some good players. Jack Rudoni is probably the one that stands out. He's scored three goals for them; he's their top goalscorer. Then you've got Sherif, a big, powerful centre forward. I know he's only got one goal, but he can be a right handful on his day. And then Thomas-Asante and Sakamoto on each wing. They've got players that can really hurt you. They've shown that over the years.
“So they're the players, but Rudoni is probably the one that sticks out in that 10 position. If you don't pick him up, he can really, really hurt you.”
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