Dan Neil believes that Sunderland may have turned a corner after winning three of their last four matches. The midfielder scored the opening goal in the Black Cats' 2-0 win over Crewe Alexandra on Saturday afternoon.
Patrick Roberts sealed all three points with a neat finish, adding gloss onto the scoreline as Sunderland cemented their place inside the top-six. They currently sit fifth, two points ahead of Sheffield Wednesday, who continued their fine run of form after thrashing Cambridge United 6-0.
However, it seems as though the Black Cats are beginning to adapt to life under Alex Neil, stretching their unbeaten run to four games. In that time, they have sealed impressive wins over Wigan Athletic, Fleetwood Town and Crewe and drew 0-0 with Charlton Athletic.
Sunderland will be hoping to build on this upturn in form going into the final eight matches of the campaign. And Neil has reflected on a much-needed victory over the Railwaymen.
He told SAFC.com: "It's tough when teams like that come and they are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table. They put all 11 men behind the ball and it's tough sometimes to break them down. But we got there in the end and I'm glad to have played a part in it.
"I thought Pat (Roberts) and Leon (Clarke) made really good impacts when they came on. They were a bit more dynamic and I think they changed the game, thankfully we've come away with another three points."
He added: "It was always going to take some time to adapt, but I think if you look at the last four games, especially the Wigan and Charlton game, the performance was better and the results have been better. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going towards the end of the season and get where we want to be."
The Black Cats are next in action when they travel to Lincoln City next weekend. The Imps won the reverse fixture back in December, as Chris Maguire's hat-trick proved to be the difference between the two sides.
