Dan Neil spoke about his Jarrow roots after Sunderland's emphatic win against Middlesbrough.
FINDING MY FEET
"I feel like I'm on a good run at the minute over the Christmas period and I've started to find my feet a bit in this division. It's really good to be part of a team playing with confidence."
RESPONSIBILITY
"Me personally, I quite like that responsibility, even though I am still one of the younger ones still, being one of the older ones because I think I probably have a lot more experience than some of the lads who are actually on the pitch. I quite like that responsibility but it's a young, exciting team and I think everyone knows that. It's really good to play in that type of team."
BORO
"I thought the all-round performance on Sunday was a very professional performance. I thought there was a little ten minute period in the second half when we were 1-0 up and they were down to ten men where we were a bit sloppy and they caught us on one or two counter attacks. As soon as that second goal went in it was a bit of relief and we controlled the game from then on."
BETTER CHANCES
"Obviously, Middlesbrough are flying and had been on a really good run [winning their last four league games]. The sending off does help us in the game but I think even when it was 11-vs-11 we created the better chances."
CARRICK'S TEAMS
"They maybe had a bit more control in terms of the possession, but that's what Michael Carrick's teams do. We've watched videos of them and their possession stats have gone through the roof since he's come in."
FANS
"They turn up in the numbers every week. It might have been a little bit better on Sunday because it was a derby and we were winning and playing well, but everyone knows what the Sunderland fans are like. They turn up week-in, week-out, home and away, and the atmosphere's always brilliant."
JARROW
"I'm from Jarrow and most of my mates are Newcastle fans, so they don't really talk about it too much! A lot of my dad's friends are Sunderland fans, and I chat to them quite a bit. I think everyone's just excited."
UPWARD SPIRAL
"We've got a brand of football, and we've got young players that we're developing. I just feel like it's an upward spiral at the minute. Everyone just needs to keep going, we can't rest on our laurels. Everyone needs to keep striving to get better, and see where that takes us at the end of the season."
