Luke O'Nien has reflected on a positive start to life in the Championship, and what the team's aims are for 2023. He also spoke about the illness going through the squad and how it hampered Blackpool preparations...
STILL LEARNING
"I think at the start naturally you are uncertain a little bit and I think anyone would be, because some people have played in this league and some people haven’t. I think you learn to grow into it and a lot of us have. With that growth and belief I’ve got no surprise where we are right now because collectively we work really, really hard and learn game by game."
ADAPTED WELL
"Maybe at the start of the season you have the element of this is a new league, and now that’s gone. I really believe and back where we are and think we’ve deserved to be where we are and we just have to keep pushing forward. We are just enjoying our football and you can see that in the way we are playing. There was a huge belief at Blackpool that we should have come out in the second half and generally I feel we should have won three or 4-1."
COMPETITIVE
"We are going into games and I don’t think we have really played a team which has dominated us. We’ve been competitive every game and we’ve been there to take the points. We are in a real good position to kick on this year and just have to make sure we take the league in our own hands, we don't just wait for it to happen, we make it happen and I think we are doing that so far."
CREDIT DESERVED
"I think it shows how far we’ve come especially when you get seven points from nine. We walk away and we should have had more, and we wanted more, and we feel like we deserved more. I think that’s credit to us because everybody connected with Sunderland has been working so hard and putting all the work in behind the scenes. We just have to make sure we keep getting better every game that goes by, learn, and even the games we win take away our good points and make them better. It’s an enjoyable place to be."
ILLNESS
"It wasn’t ideal. I was in bed all day (on Saturday) for training so I missed that. I managed to catch up with the tactical side on the morning and just get out there and still play, still help the boys."
LEFT CENTRE BACK
"I enjoy it down the left side, especially when you've got Clarkey [Jack Clarke] there. I give the ball to him and watch his dancing feet, and then I've just got to defend. I have Bails [Bailey Wright] inside me who makes my job really easy. I enjoy it and it's our job to keep the ball out of the net. We didn't quite get the clean sheet we wanted. We'll look at the whole game and see how we can come away with three points next time."
