Trai Hume pinpoints what has gone wrong at Sunderland in Premier League and singles out ‘outstanding’ teammate
Trai Hume has identified where Sunderland have fallen short this season while praising a teammate’s response amid injuries and suspensions
Trai Hume believes Sunderland’s poor Premier League start stems from a loss of the defensive strength that underpinned last season’s success, insisting responsibility extends throughout the team.
The defender acknowledged that injuries, suspensions and individual mistakes had contributed to a difficult opening to the campaign. However, he stressed that protecting Sunderland’s goal was a collective responsibility rather than something left solely to the defenders and goalkeeper.
Sunday’s goalless draw against Leeds United ended four consecutive league defeats and took Sunderland to five points from eight matches. It also offered encouragement for Hume, who felt the performance showed signs of the resilience that had previously served them well.
Hume identifies missing defensive foundations
Sunderland created opportunities against Leeds, with Brian Brobbey and Nilson Angulo denied by James Trafford, but their clean sheet was an improvement after recent results.
Asked to explain why Sunderland had started more slowly than last season, Hume pointed to the standards the team had established without the ball. “No, I think, like I said, last season we prided ourselves on being strong defensively and keeping clean sheets. And I think last season we were maybe fourth or fifth at the end of the season on clean sheets.
“And this season we haven't started the season the way we wanted. We've been making mistakes, we've been getting suspensions, injuries, and maybe that plays a part, but we haven't been defensively strong the way we have been, and we've conceded goals.
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“And I think that comes down to the foundations of the whole team, the starting 11, not just the back four or the keeper; it's everyone. So, we need to get that back into our team, and I think we did that today, and hopefully we can start scoring chances that we create.”
Injuries and suspensions only part of the explanation
Sunderland’s defensive options have been disrupted by injuries and suspensions, with Kevin Danso unavailable against Leeds following his dismissal at Bournemouth and Thomas Meunier also absent. Nordi Mukiele then had to be replaced during the second half after an accidental collision with Luke O’Nien, forcing another adjustment.
Hume accepted those circumstances were difficult but pointed out that Sunderland had expanded their squad to cope with competing domestically and in Europe. “Yeah, it's obviously, it's not ideal. Obviously, we don't want any players to get injured and any players to get suspended, but that stuff happens in football.
“And we come in at the start of the season with a bigger squad to compete in all competitions, that's the Premier League and Europa League. And I think it showed today. I thought Luke O’Nien was outstanding, and he was outstanding in Poland the other night, and it goes to show that we do have depth. And even though we have players that are injured and suspended, we have players that can step up and perform.”