Phil Parkinson explains his thinking on the big selection decisions looming at Sunderland and responds to calls for changes

One point from six made for an ultimately disappointing week from Sunderland, who will face Gillingham with their automatic promotion hopes damaged, but far from over.
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Understandably, there have been increasing calls for Phil Parkinson to shuffle his pack and bring some freshness to the starting XI.

He has stayed remarkably loyal to his core group of players since the turn of the year, with the very rare changes he has made predominantly forced by injury.

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Indeed, the introduction of Bailey Wright at the expense of Alim Ozturk at Tranmere Rovers is arguably the only time he has made a significant personnel change for tactical reasons.

Sunderland's January additions are pushing for more minutesSunderland's January additions are pushing for more minutes
Sunderland's January additions are pushing for more minutes

The majority of his January additions have been limited mostly to substitute appearances and there have been plenty of calls for more prominent roles for the likes of Kyle Lafferty and Declan John.

Parkinson is weighing up some changes but is equally mindful of Sunderland’s excellent home form this year and the players who have been key to that.

Some changes are almost certain at some stage this week, with a long trip to Bristol Rovers on Tuesday followed by a trip to Blackpool next weekend.

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“A lot of the home games recently we have dominated and played some fantastic football,” he said.

“Equally, we've had a free week building up to this game so it's not like we've played Saturday, Tuesday and are then coming into this one.

“So that factors into team selection as well.

“We're looking at everything, the physical stats, who has dipped and who is in a good place, as well as who is looking bright in training.

“Also, the performance last Sunday and then the last couple of home games.

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“We're weighing all of that up with the three games this week in mind.

“Like I’ve said before, the lads who are out of the team are training well and waiting for the opportunity,” he added.

“A few have had opportunities from the bench and we’re waiting for a moment from someone off the bench as well, to really stake a claim.

“In the main, the lads in the team have done well, but we have three games in seven days and we wouldn’t be against making changes in that period.”

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Parkinson has a lot of faith in the 3-4-3 system that has been central to Sunderland’s surge into automatic promotion contention, but is also wary fo the need to ensure his team is not too predictable.

“Definitely that as well,” he said.

“We have looked at that, tweaking things, and been through some scenarios with the lads in training.

“Once again, though, this system has worked well for us and given teams a lot of problems.

“There's always the option to look at something different and we're always evolving.”

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The Black Cats boss conceded that his side had not done enough in the final third at St Andrews against Coventry City, but praised the Sky Blues’ defence and believes his side’s shortcomings in that department were primarly due to a lack of composure, rather than any major fault to his system and personnel choices.