Phil Parkinson reveals his plans for Sunderland ace Luke O'Nien

The former Wycombe Wanderers utility man was used mainly as a right-back under Jack Ross but was pushed further forward on occasions.

And O’Nien looks to be used in a number of different positions under the new boss too, with Parkinson hailing his versatility.

O’Nien started in a midfield three away at Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday but was pushed back to right-back for the 5-0 win over Tranmere Rovers.

The 24-year-old one of the star performers and he capped his performance with a diving header to make it five on the night, the goal coming after O’Nien was pushed further forward when Conor McLaughlin replaced Duncan Watmore.

On O’Nien’s impressive display, Parkinson said: “He is just great anywhere. He got a goal and he has so much energy and desire.

“I watched a lot of the games before I came in and I said to him on the first day I can see why the supporters like you, he has a lot of heart, he has to keep that because that was some performance from him.”

Pressed on whether it means O’Nien is likely to move between positions under him, Parkinson added: “Yeah, I think so because we haven’t got a massive squad.

“We only had 16 outfield players training on Monday. You do need versatile players.

“But he is happy to play anywhere and he is good enough to play anywhere."