Sunderland boss reveals plan to make sure key man is refreshed for Cardiff City clash

Sunderland interim boss Mike Dodds has been speaking about a tactical decision he made to give a key player rest ahead of Friday’s clash with Cardiff City.

The Black Cats have seen their season fall apart with two managerial sackings, and they now sit below the Bluebirds and five points worse off. For all intensive purposes, Sunderland’s season is over apart from battling for position, and the same may be said of Cardiff’s campaign, but eight points off the top six, there is a slim chance of a late run if they can be particularly consistent, starting here.

Ahead of Sunderland’s trip to Cardiff, interim boss Dodds, who will remain in charge for the rest of the season, has been speaking about how key player Jobe Bellingham got extra time off to make sure he is refreshed for the Easter period.

“We just felt as a football club… he’s played 30-odd games,” he told the Sunderland Echo. “We’re very respectful to the international teams but our injury list at the moment isn’t the best and for someone at 18 who has played the amount of games he has at the level he has, we felt it was more sensible for him to have a breather.

“He only came in for a couple of days over the two weeks, we gave him an extended period off to rest and recover which I think is sensible from both ours and England’s perspective. He’s been back in this week, he looks refreshed and I think both parties have done the right thing by him.”