Aiden O'Brien has taken aim at former Sunderland boss Lee Johnson after describing his spell on Wearside as "absolutely abysmal." The former Black Cats striker left Wearside in January after a stop-start campaign.
The Republic of Ireland international played a key part in Sunderland's play-off push last season but found game time hard to come by this time round. O'Brien was one of the standout performers for the Black Cats in the Carabao Cup, scoring a hattrick against Blackpool only to be benched for the following league game.
O'Brien signed a short term deal with Portsmouth in an attempt to kick start his career once more after a difficult spell on Wearside. The forward was far from prolific in front of goal but chipped in with important goals last season.
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When asked the difference between the two spells, O'Brien told The Portsmouth News : "(The difference is) I’m playing. I’m actually playing and I’m on the pitch. There were times at Sunderland where I would score a hat-trick and in the next game, I would be on the bench.
"I would then be on the bench the next three games. My time at Sunderland was absolutely abysmal, I didn’t enjoy it at all. It started well, and it just ended so badly. I just needed to get out of there because I was kind of rotting away. The manager here knows that, and he took me on, which I’m thankful for."
The former Black Cats forward is hoping for a bit of stability on the south coast, despite only signing a short term contract. He added: "We’re building a good relationship together. So hopefully, as I’ve said, we can extend that but nothing’s been said at the moment.
"Everyone likes a bit of stability in their life, so we’ll see what happens. Sometimes, even in life you just want someone to give you a backing and kind of say 'yeah, you’re my guy and I want you'.
"That hasn’t happened to me for a while, being at Sunderland with it not working out. I’ve come here for a fresh start, while taking a risk by coming on a three-month contract. I’ve backed myself and I feel like I’ve paid back the club a little bit with a few goals and a couple of performances."
