Lynden Gooch reveals the secret behind his sensational Sunderland form

The American has netted six times in his last ten outings, with a brace against Rochdale on Tuesday evening taking his tally for the season to nine.

And Gooch has quickly emerged as a key player under Phil Parkinson, having flourished in the 3-4-3 system employed by the Sunderland boss.

But what has been the secret to his remarkable string of performances?

For the 24-year-old, a run of starts in his preferred position coupled with the formation of a feared attacking trident has proved key.

"It's probably a combination of a few things,” admitted Gooch.

“I like playing more central, and this has been the first manager to really stick with me in a central area.

"I've also got Chrissy [Maguire] around me, and Charlie Wyke does a lot of work that maybe a lot of people don't notice, but it allows me and Chrissy to get into really good positions to score goals.

“We're all enjoying it at the moment, and I think you can see how happy we all are when one of us scores a goal. That's always a good thing.”

The victory over Rochdale saw Sunderland move within five points of league leaders Rotherham, and gained an added significance as promotion rivals Portsmouth and Wycombe dropped points.

And while the margin of victory was a convincing one, Gooch knows that every goal could prove crucial with the race for the top two set to go down to the wire.

Sunderland, therefore, cannot afford to spurn too many opportunities.

“We had a couple of really good chances,” added Gooch.

“I could have had one just before my first. That was unlucky.

“There were other chances too, and it could have easily been four or five.”

“It obviously looks like it's going to go down to the wire, so the more goals we score the better for us,” he continued.

“We're keeping them out at the other end too, which is important. It's always a big bonus.”