This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Simon Grayson made a show of support for Phil Parkinson after his Blackpool side gained a point at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.
What did he say?
The former Sunderland boss admitted that he gets on with current man in the dugout, and suggested that he will be working as hard as he can to get back to winning ways and really kickstart the Black Cats’ season.
A draw against the Seasiders isn’t a bad point but the fact it takes the winless run to eight means there is no end to the doubts that fans hold over Parkinson’s ability, and their impatience is only likely to grow as a result.
That means they will not be fond of Grayson backing their manager, and instead would likely prefer public criticism of the job he is doing, as two wins in 13 games is simply nowhere food enough.
Speaking after the draw, as reported by the Sunderland Echo, Grayson said:
“Phil knows exactly what he needs to do.
“He’s working really hard, I’m sure. I know him really well and I know his staff and they’ll be doing their utmost to try and turn it around.
“That’s all any manager tries to do. Obviously the expectancy level is high and the pressure can build, but I think he’ll be pleased with his players today.”
Watch Sunderland Videos With StreamFootball.tv BelowBig expectationsSunderland put in a slightly improved performance on Saturday with Charlie Wyke and Chris Maguire making valuable contributions in the final third, but aside from that it was much of the same.A lack of cutting edge in attack and too many unforced errors from the likes of Duncan Watmore and George Dobson, who earned respective WhoScored ratings of 5.7 and 5.1, shows that Parkinson has a lot of work to do to still.There is little doubt that he is probably already doing whatever he can to swing things back in his favour, and therefore Grayson’s remarks seem a little strange, though he is perhaps just trying to show support for someone he knows well.That is likely to irritate supporters. Many already dislike the Blackpool manager for his failures in the north-east, which contributed to relegation from the Championship, and backing a manager who is openly disliked and taken the club backwards is not gonna win him any friends.Parkinson has a great deal of work to do to get his side back on track, and though the decision to change formation is a positive which could pay off, there are several more steps he must take if the Black Cats are even going to challenge for the play-offs, let alone win them.
The performance of Charlie Wyke against Blackpool was a positive for fans, though, and could offer Parkinson the chance to build something.