Stephen Elliott: The red card warning Sunderland ace must listen to

O’Nien is a player who I admire and always gives it his all on the pitch.

However, I do think he needs to look at his discipline going forward this season, though.

He has already picked up three yellow cards and probably lucky not to have seen red on at least one occasion so far this season in the four Championship games he has featured in.

He is a player who plays on the edge and I understand that’s one of his attributes but if he keeps flying into challenges and giving away silly free-kicks then it’s only a matter of time before he gets a suspension.

O’Nien is a player who Alex Neil, I’m sure, will want at his disposal most weeks, especially given his versatility but the bookings will have to slow down.

Sunderland can’t afford to be getting players sent off as we saw last Wednesday night in Sheffield.

No matter how good the team play, going a man down will always be an uphill struggle.

Looking at O’Nien this season I feel a red card could be around the corner if he carries on and Neil will be aware of this too.

If this is the case then the manager may not be able to trust him on the pitch.

O’Nien can be a huge asset to the squad but he just needs to time his tackles a bit better and be a little more savvy out of possession.