Did Sunderland's victory over Sheffield United represent a shift in mentality?

01/03/2025 01:00 AM

A well-crafted victory over the Blades put the Lads back into the automatic promotion chase, but did we see a different mindset from the players on Wednesday night?

Gav says…

I agree with John — I'm not sure I saw a mentality shift at all. We've stayed unbeaten at home all season and have beaten some good sides, so if anything, what we saw was replication and consistency.

I think that's one of Régis Le Bris' biggest strengths- that he sticks to his principles and is ideals because he believes in them. In turn, the players believe too, but it's only through repetition and allowing players to make mistakes that you can then achieve consistency.

The day I noticed a mentality shift from Sunderland was when we battered Sheffield Wednesday right back at the start of the season.

We rapidly went from being a team who knew they could compete but probably weren't sure of it to carrying ourselves like a side who are more than capable of achieving promotion with an elite mindset. Our young players grew in stature and confidence, and we've seen that confidence shine through every single performance this season.

Even when we've lost, they've been close games and we've been chasing a victory in all of them. Nobody has stepped all over us yet and that's because these players and this coach know exactly how good they are, and what they're capable of.

The fanbase… well that's something entirely different. Maybe a few more of our fans are starting to believe having seen us swat aside probably the best side in the division to date, and you can't blame them.

Anthony Gair says…

The win against Sheffield United showcased our resilience, composure, and ability to capitalise on key moments.

Eliezer Mayenda's opportunistic opener and Wilson Isidor's clinical finish highlighted our sharpness in attack, and we weathered pressure to secure a vital result following Luke O'Nien's unfortunate own goal.

This performance suggests a growing belief within the squad that promotion is a genuine possibility. By beating a promotion rival and closing the gap to third-placed Sheffield United to two points, we've shown we're capable of competing with and chasing down the teams ahead of us.

The ability to capitalise on opportunities, recover from setbacks, and manage the game effectively under pressure reflects a team growing in confidence and belief.

Régis Le Bris' tactical approach and the players' composure on the pitch are signs that we're developing the mindset needed to succeed in the promotion race.

John Wilson says…

I don't think we saw anything that we hadn't seen before in Wednesday night's game, and I knew we'd 'turn up'.

We'd been disappointing at Stoke; we'd been 'robbed' earlier when we'd played Sheffield United away, and with them being a team we had to raise our game for, everything was ripe for a good performance, so I wasn't surprised at all.

Now, how we perform next time out is another story!