Ex-Premier League winger backs Sunderland to turn season around after underwhelming start

Former Premier League winger Matt Jarvis has claimed that he is “sure” Sunderland will turn their season around, despite their sluggish start to the new campaign.

A paltry return of just five points from their opening nine matches has left the Black Cats bottom of the top flight table heading into Sunday’s top flight clash against Chelsea - with an unenviable run of fixtures against the likes of Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur, and Liverpool to follow over the coming weeks. Sunderland’s struggles have made for a sharp contrast from the stellar form that led to their seventh-placed finish and subsequent Europa League qualification in the Premier League last term - which in turn has made for an unfamiliar challenge this season.

But in Jarvis’ view, it is only a matter of time before Regis Le Bris’ men learn to balance their domestic and continental duties, and play their way out of relegation trouble.

Speaking to Midnite, the one-time England international said: "It's classic second-season syndrome. After an outstanding first campaign, expectations shoot up. Opponents analyse your patterns, understand how you play, and set up specifically to nullify your strengths. Replicating that intensity across a second year is extremely difficult. "They have a quality squad and a top manager. Playing in Europe is brilliant, but it demands constant squad rotation and introduces fixture overload. As a player, you understand rotation in theory, but personally, you just want to stay in the team to maintain your rhythm. When you're constantly rotated, match sharpness suffers.

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"The psychological pressure changes as well. In their first year, they might have braced themselves for a relegation battle, but because it went so well, the bar was raised. The Stadium of Light was a fortress last year, whereas this season they’ve struggled for domestic consistency.

"They've performed in Europe, but they urgently need that next league win to rebuild momentum. It’s certainly not for a lack of effort, they work exceptionally hard. Sometimes you have to strip it back to basics: focus on what made you successful initially, running harder than the opposition and maintaining defensive solidity. I'm sure they will turn it around."

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