Sunderland legend Gary Bennett delivers verdict on promotion, Alex Neil and squad ahead of Oxford clash - 'On paper best squad in the league'

Alex Neil’s side have six games remaining as they try to secure a top-six finish, and have made improvements since they appointed a new head coach in February.

Sunderland have lost just once under Neil in nine matches, while the side have kept five clean sheets in their last six fixtures.

Still, with teams around them in good form too, the margin for error remains slim.

“He has come in and been steady away,” Bennett told the Echo when asked about Neil. “He’s made us a little bit harder to beat in regards to not conceding goals.

“He’s still getting to understand the players and find out what is the best system to play, and game by game we have seen him change the formation and players to suit the opposition.

“So far you have to say that it’s worked.”

This is Sunderland’s fourth consecutive season in League One, while the Black Cats have missed out on promotion via the play-offs in two of the last three seasons.

In previous years Sunderland have been competing to win automatic promotion in the final few weeks of the campaign and entered the play-offs with a sense of disappointment.

With a bit of momentum behind them, Bennett is hopeful this season can be different.

“This squad is obviously different to the squads we’ve had before and is not the same squad which has been beaten in the last few play-offs,” he said. “There are a lot more younger players in this squad.

“In the last few play-offs we have been going in as favourites, but I think that has been taken a little bit away from us now. Hopefully we can get in there quietly and get on with the job.

“Saying that, you look at the last two or three occasions when we’ve been there or thereabouts, you can’t say we’ve not had the squad because we’ve had a stronger squad than most teams in the division.

“You look at our squad at the present moment and would say on paper we have the best squad in the league, but you don’t win games on paper.

“Teams are not going to lie down for us and are going to make it difficult for us and we’ve seen that.”

As a former defender Bennett has been impressed by Sunderland’s defensive improvements, as well as the emergence of 21-year-old goalkeeper Anthony Patterson who has started every match under Neil.

“It’s huge isn’t it,” said Bennett when asked about the Black Cats’ recent clean sheets.

“It’s huge for the players, the goalkeeper and the defenders in front of him. Also it’s good for the team as a whole because it sends a message that we are quite confident and are not going to concede.

“If they get past the defenders then we have a good keeper in Patterson who has done very, very well since he’s come in and hasn’t put a foot wrong. When called upon he has made vital saves.

“You look at the formation of the team when we have played with a three of (Carl) Winchester, Bailey Wright and (Dennis) Cirkin they have done well.

“On Saturday against Gillingham he went with (Danny) Batth, Bailey Wright, Cirkin and Winchester, so he’s looked at it and whoever comes in hopefully knows their job.”

Neil will be weighing up whether it’s best to go with a back four or a back three against play-off rivals Oxford this weekend, and the Sunderland boss certainly has options.

Dan Neil and Jay Matete both started on the bench against Gillingham last time out, while Nathan Broadhead and Alex Pritchard are available again following injury setbacks.

Tottenham loanee Jack Clarke has also switched to a wing-back role when Neil has altered his side’s shape.

“You look at the Oxford game and if called upon he might start with the likes of Clarke, or Matete who can come into the middle of the park,” added Bennett

“Pritchard might play off Ross Stewart but also he has that option of bringing Broadhead back, so he has got options and fingers crossed he selects the right options.

“At the end of the day he can select the team but it’s up to the players once they cross that line. It’s not Alex Neil’s fault if Broadhead, for example, doesn’t deliver the goods or Clarke doesn’t deliver the goods.

“He is putting the trust in the players that they can produce the goods.”

And while some may feel it is better to have a settled side at this stage of the season, Bennett believes there is healthy competition.

“For me that is always good because you have to play well,” he explained.

“If you don’t play well you know what the consequences are and I think sometimes it’s too easy to think you haven’t got the options so you are guaranteed to play the following week.

“It’s good to know the message is there: If you produce the goods you stay in the team, and if you don’t produce the goods you are not going to be in the team.

“He has got options now for positions but also competition and I think that’s what they need, competition for places.

“You look at Lynden Gooch, is he going to start on Saturday, not start on Saturday? He’s looking at all these sorts of things and you know that to stay in the team you have to be performing week in, week out.”