Sunderland icon Kevin Phillips has been speaking about Luke O’Nien.

Sunderland legend Kevin Phillips has claimed that Luke O’Nien has “put to bed” any doubts over whether or not he is good enough to play in the Premier League.

The Black Cats stalwart has had to be patient this season, and spent the first part of the campaign recovering from the shoulder injury he sustained during the opening exchanges of last year’s Championship play-off final.

Since then, he has largely had to settle for cameo appearances and FA Cup outings, but did make his first ever top flight start in a tightly contested 1-0 victory over Leeds United last week, putting in a Man of the Match display at Elland Road.

Writing on social media in the aftermath of his full Premier League debut, O’Nien admitted that he had occasionally doubted whether he would ever make it in the upper echelons of the professional game. He said: “To any young kid reading this… I’ve doubted myself in every league I’ve ever played in. Ryman Prem. Conference South. League Two. League One. Championship… and even right before my first Premier League start last night. That’s not weakness. That’s being human. That’s being alive. When I was growing up, I thought Premier League players were superhuman. Like they never felt doubt. Like they never felt nerves. The truth is… it’s often the opposite.”

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What has Kevin Phillips said about Sunderland favourite Luke O’Nien?

But speaking exclusively to The Echo, courtesy of BestBettingSites, Phillips suggested that any such worries have now been firmly allayed. He said: “I spend a lot of time in the North East and there’s a lot of people that maybe were questioning whether he would make the step to the Premier League, but I think he put that to bed the other night.

“His performances – you can never ever question Luke’s determination, his work rate, his passion for the football club, that would never be in question. And he stepped up in terms of ability to be able to handle the Premier League. I thought he was outstanding the other night. You saw that in his celebration at the end, the big smile on his face. The players as well around him were delighted for him. Everyone at the football club is.

“It’s a huge bonus for Regis Le Bris, isn’t it? Having someone like that in his squad, when players do get injured, he steps in and doesn’t look out of place. Now he’s pushing for a start and it’ll be interesting to see what Regis Le Bris does in the coming matches. Absolutely delighted to see him make his first Premier League start and I’m sure he’s going to make many, many more.”

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