Sunderland legend Marco Gabbiadini on how SAFC must find ‘extra one percent’ during final weeks of the season
A former Sunderland striker knows where his old club have to improve during the final weeks of the season
Sunderland legend Marco Gabbiadini has urged the Black Cats to ‘find that extra percent’ in their bid to keep their faint European hopes alive during the final weeks of the Premier League season.
Regis Le Bris’ side have enjoyed an overwhelmingly positive campaign so far and have far surpassed all expectations to maintain a push for a European place. Going into Saturday’s home game with Manchester United, the Black Cats are sitting in twelfth place in the table – but they remain just four adrift of the top seven. The progress of English clubs into the finals of the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League can also aid Sunderland’s bid to land only a second season in European competition in the club’s history.
One the biggest success stories during the first half of the season was Sunderland’s ability to make the most of set-pieces and that provided an area where they were one of the leading clubs in the Premier League. However, their effectiveness from corner-kicks, throw-ins and free-kicks has lessened as the campaign has continued and Gabiaddini believes that is because opposing sides have been able to ‘do their homework’ on the Black Cats.
He told BBC Newcastle: “Set pieces come down to chance. Sunderland scored quite a lot from them in the first third of the season and now it’s dropped off a little bit. One of my jobs as a goalscorer was to try and get on the end of things and for corners, the manager wanted me to be free and find where the gap is. You could make the same run for 20 games and not get on the end of it, but then get to it three games in a row, so there is so much chance involved.
“Sunderland’s corners have never been among the best and they have always struggled to put a good ball in. That’s an area that you could argue they need to do better in. I think Regis le Bris is right in that teams do evolve through a season and other teams do their homework. They have worked out what Sunderland were doing early doors from set-pieces and you have always got to stay ahead of the game. It’s like long-throws. Less teams are doing them now because teams have worked out how to defend them. You’ve got to find that extra one per cent all the time.”
