Phil Smith's verdict: Taking stock of where Lee Johnson's Sunderland stand after afternoon of mixed emotions

In a way, though, that best sums up where they stand ten games into Lee Johnson's tenure.

There are the glimpses of where he wants to take them, the moves where the reality matches the rhetoric.

Then there are the periods of drift, when the reality of where Sunderland find themselves takes hold and the legacy of the last decade sets in.

In the second half here, Sunderland struggled to retain possession for any period of time.

As the previously lively Jack Diamond tired, the Black Cats lacked an outlet on the break and what we were left with was what Johnson termed a 'frantic', 'scruffy' performance.

It was the kind of spell where we have seen all too often in League One, the balance of the side wrong and the attacking patterns disintegrating as a result.

Shrewsbury Town's interim boss says Sunderland's coaching staff conceded after the game they had been fortunate to land three points.

After a second half in which the visiting side made all of the running, it was hard to disagree.

The blunt truth is that in these moments Sunderland look very much like what they are: a side on the coattails of the League One play-offs.

Johnson, it should be said, conceded there were major shortcomings in his side's second-half play, but also fairly noted that his goalkeeper had not been tested too much.

The spine of Sunderland's side remained resolute, Bailey Wright excellent, Jordan Willis strong and Grant Leadbitter controlled. There is at least a foothold here. Even when the

Black Cats look laboured, they rarely look exposed.

On home turf in particular, any defensive flaws under the new head coach have generally been more about individual lapses than a collective shortcoming in set up or design.

It was also entirely fair for Johnson to reflect that if by 4.45pm it had all felt like a bit of a grind, at 3.35 the response to Tuesday night's disappointment against Plymouth Argyle was encouraging.

Everything Johnson hopes to implement was neatly surmised in his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon, as he reflected on the ups and downs of his time on Wearside so far.

"I think we should be able to lose a game of football and people still say, that is a Sunderland side," Johnson said.

"That's a side that has given it a go, has pressed from the front, tried to play forward, that's been all-action, won tackles.

"We've lost because of a mistake, a moment of brilliance, a refereeing decision etc but we've stuck to our principles and we've gone at it."

For half an hour, you could see it.

Sunderland were far from perfect, but there was ambition and most importantly, a real tempo in their play.

Diamond and McGeady were operating in dangerous areas, the midfielders were moving it quickly and as Diamond was inches away from beating the goalkeeper to a loose ball, you felt very deeply the absence of the red-and-white army.

This was the second move in minutes where aggressive pressing had forced an error.

Moments before, Wyke had backed up his superb early header by pouncing on indecision in the Shrewsbury backline and rounding the goalkeeper, only to fire his effort wide.

It was a passage of play in which only a lack of composure in the final moment prevented Sunderland from settling the contest.

The Stadium of Light would have been up and right behind its team.

You're reluctant to oversell this point, as there have been plenty of times in the past where good starts have given way to insipid endings.

Nevertheless, to be able to match the plan with the action was welcome, even if it feels as if being able to do this regularly feels a long way off still (in a third season in League One, this is a damning statement to make and frames any frustration that meets an indifferent display).

That Johnson needs two additions is obvious and in that sense, a crucial week looms.

A natural left-back is an absolute must with Denver Hume sidelined, with the balance of the side currently out of kilter. And while both Lynden Gooch and Aiden O'Brien have offered encouraging signs alongside Charlie Wyke in patches, a natural runner in central areas is badly needed.

If nothing else, it means Johnson can make changes from the bench that keep his side's attacking threat alive through ninety minutes.

That’s the short-term challenge; the long-term is even more daunting still.

Before the game Johnson spoke of the club lacking 'emotional stability'. The point being that it has been an unsettled period, managerial change, a COVID-19 outbreak. The window is still open and most importantly of all, the takeover question still looms over the club even as the head coach remains confident it will be approved.

The gap between where Sunderland are and where Sunderland want to be remains vast as a result.

It's why Johnson will always take the opportunity to talk up what can seem like the little details. The upkeep of the pitch, the staffing of the recruitment department, and in his Friday press conference, even the importance of sleep.

These are areas where he has come from a club in Bristol City right at the cutting edge, where Sunderland have fallen behind.

It's because of all of this that so much hope has been invested in the Kyril Louis-Dreyfus takeover.

Where Johnson can take this Sunderland side in the interim is a question still difficult to answer.

The league remains open but Sunderland's position in it means at some stage, they need a sustained run of wins.

The blunt truth is that to achieve that, they cannot afford such inconsistency within games.

35 minutes needs to turn into 95 before long.

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