Patrick Roberts request to play in Sunderland U23s is a sign of his determination to play a part in the League One run-in, says Alex Neil. Roberts joined the Black Cats from Manchester City in the January transfer window but is one of a group of players - which also includes Jermain Defoe and Jack Clarke - who arrived with very little match practice, meaning they have only been used sparingly up to now.
Roberts, for instance, has been involved in only four of Sunderland's eight games since he joined, with those four substitute outings totalling only 68 minutes. But on Monday he asked to play for the U23s against Stoke City at Eppleton in a bid to get more minutes under his belt, starting the game and playing for an hour before he was withdrawn.
"Patrick is working really hard," said Neil. "The biggest difficulty you have is when you sign someone and they have a lack of game minutes, because the simple fact is that we are now at the stage of the season where every game that ticks off, if they don't play, they arguably get further away rather than closer to fitness.
"The problem you have is that when you are not fully-fit in the first place, the importance of every match becomes greater and greater. It's hard to ask somebody to play at their peak when they are, physically, not at their peak.
"We need to eliminate the risk of putting in too many players who are not physically ready because that will jeopardise the result, and we can't afford that at this moment in time. I've been really honest with Patrick, as I have with the other lads.
"If they've had a lack of game minutes, I have told them that they are not up to speed. Patrick wanted to give himself the best chance by playing in that U23 game, which was great.
"We're talking about Patrick, but he is certainly not the only one that has had a lack of game minutes - or vice-versa, some have had far too many game minutes but you don't want to take those ones out because you know how important they can be when they are at their peak. It's a case of finding a balance, but also winning at the same time."
Sunderland head to Charlton Athletic this afternoon, after which there will be just ten more games remaining in the regular League One campaign and the Black Cats are fighting to secure a play-off place. With the season at such a crucial stage, Neil has asked all the players to put aside their individual ambitions and focus on helping the club achieve a top six finish and, hopefully, promotion.
He said: "The attitude of the players has been great ever since I came in. There haven't been any issues in terms of attitude. I have told them that this is now the most selfless part of the season - whatever your own agenda, whatever your own supposition, contract-wise or whatever, you need to park it to one side and focus on winning games.
"It's not about you - whoever you are. You need to make sure that you are contributing to the team, and all the lads are on board with that."
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