Luke O'Nien reveals what Sunderland players spotted in footage that helped spark Chelsea turnaround
Luke O'Nien has explained how Sunderland revisited last season's performances to identify what had been missing
Luke O'Nien has revealed how Sunderland's players returned to footage of last season's performances in an attempt to identify what had gone wrong during their difficult start to the Premier League campaign.
The Black Cats secured a much-needed victory over Chelsea before the international break, showing greater defensive organisation and aggression than during their recent defeats.
While Régis Le Bris has faced criticism over his tactical approach, O'Nien believes the solutions to Sunderland's problems can partly be found in the methods that made them successful last season. "I think a lot of it's still trying to stay to what we did last season," he explained. "How were we successful last season to now, what are we not quite doing? The evidence is when we watch the games back, it's really, really clear sometimes."
Sunderland finished seventh last season, securing European qualification, but have struggled to reproduce those standards while balancing additional fixtures and injuries. O'Nien suggested Chelsea provided evidence that the players could rediscover their identity without completely abandoning their existing approach.
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"Today we're really, really tight; we're a lot tighter, we're a little bit more aggressive at the same time. Sometimes all the effort's there, and we don't get the result. Again, you just have to look at it and go, let's try this, let's get better at this, let's keep working individually, collectively."
The defender also referenced a message from Damian Hughes, whose observation about successful teams learning from their previous performances resonated within the squad. "We just said that big parts of us there was like us last season. Damian Hughes said success leaves clues. So we went back to what worked for us last season. But we have to keep the hammer down now."
Sunderland's defensive resilience against Chelsea was particularly encouraging after a succession of disappointing performances. However, O'Nien stressed that the improvement must continue beyond one result. "But as you said, we've got to do that tomorrow, the day after that, next week, the weeks after that. If you keep doing that, you'll keep getting the points."