'Very close': Sunderland boss sets out clear Chris Rigg selection stance after Norwich City defeat

Mike Dodds says Chris Rigg is 'very close' to Sunderland's starting XI after another impressive cameo at Norwich City on Saturday.

A 1-0 defeat saw Sunderland fall nine points behind the top six and after four defeats in a row many fans are keen to see the 16-year-old handed a chance to start. Dodds hinted before this game that the midfielder was firmly in his thinking and reiterated that ahead of Leicester City's visit to the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night.

"We're going to have to utilise the squad, it's three games in a week," Dodds said.

"Riggy has trained really, really well and I think he's a huge asset for the football club. I've got nothing but positives to say about him. He's very, very close to the team. I'm really happy with Riggy, he's someone who wants to do well for the football club and those types of players are really important not just for me but for the football club."

Sunderland's chances of replicating last season's sixth-placed finish appear to be increasingly remote but Dodds insisted that the race was not over and believes his players are close to turning around their poor run of form.

"I know we're in a spot at the moment and I appreciate that, I watch the group train and work every day and if I felt there was a level of complacency or people not being solely focused on the task at hand which is to try and achieve the top six then I wouldn't select them," he said.

"Last year we went on an amazing run and I think we're really close to doing really well. There's some fine margins that just aren't going our way, but that's not an excuse. I've said to the players there that we have to keep working on what we do, and I firmly believe that we'll start coming out on the other side of the results that we're getting. If we stay focused, the tide will turn sooner rather than later."

Sunderland travel to Southampton next Saturday after Leicester City's visit in midweek, with a home game against QPR the last before the March international break.