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Former Sunderland striker Marco Gabbiadini has claimed that he “wouldn’t expect anything less” from Black Cats stalwart Luke O’Nien after the defender put in a Man of the Match display against Oxford United in the FA Cup on Sunday afternoon.

Opportunities have been relatively hard to come by for the 31-year-old of late, with his only other start of the campaign coming against Everton in the previous round of the competition.

Nevertheless, O’Nien – sporting the captain’s armband for his side at the Kassam Stadium – produced a typically battling performance at the heart of defence, and reflecting on his outing, Gabbiadini suggested that he was unsurprised by the centre-back’s impressive showing.

What did Marco Gabbiadini say about Sunderland defender Luke O’Nien?

Speaking during an appearance on BBC Radio Newcastle’s Total Sport, the pundit said: “You wouldn’t expect anything less, would you really? That’s just him. He’s had a bit of a tough year, after being involved in everything that goes on with Sunderland over the last, gosh, how many years? Four, five, six years? So, it’s a nice outing for him, nice room for him to wear the armband as well.”

For his part, O’Nien has admitted that, after helping Sunderland to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time in 11 years, he and his teammates are beginning to dream of a trip to Wembley.

In a post-match interview, he said: “We’re in a good position now. We’re a good team. We talked in the changing room before the game. We’re a good team but we’ve got to step up to become a great team. Great teams do the details again and again on whatever pitch at whatever stadium. We’re getting there.

“If you’re not dreaming then what is the point. It’s one of our goals, we’ve talked about it all week. But we’ve got a lot more to do in the league as well so there is plenty of unfinished business for this week.”

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What else did Marco Gabbiadini say about Sunderland’s display in the FA Cup?

Elsewhere, Gabbiadini also offered his opinion on new signing Jocelin Ta Bi, who came off the bench to make his debut with a promising late cameo against Oxford. He said: “I think he’s going to be a bit like the likes of [Chemsdine] Talbi, [Simon] Adingra, the players who have sort of passed the baton on at different times of the season to see who are the best ones. He will join that queue, really, to see whether he can become a solid, first on the team sheet sort of player. That’s what you’ve got to dream for.

“But look, like many of the players who come to Sunderland, they’re a bit of a project, and they’re given, A, opportunity – that as I always say, is the most important thing, but B, understanding and a little bit of time as well. So let’s see where we go with him.”