Alex Neil insists every player can make an impact in Sunderland's play-off campaign - pointing to the example set by Elliot Embleton. The Black Cats are back in the top six following their win at play-off rivals Oxford United this weekend - a result which stretched their unbeaten run to eight matches, and which includes five victories.
And, while he has not been starting games of late, Embleton has made his mark as a substitute in the last couple of matches. The academy product came off the bench to set up Nathan Broadhead's 95th minute winner against Gillingham at the Stadium of Light last weekend, and he followed that by coming off the bench at Oxford to score the decider in the 89th minute in the 2-1 win at the Kassam Stadium.
Neil accepts that it is difficult to keep a squad of players happy when he can only start 11 at a time, but he says promotion-winning sides are powered by the 'team ethic' rather than individual agendas. That point has been exemplified by Embleton's contributions in the last two matches, and last month by the impact that Dan Neil and Patrick Roberts had from the bench when they scored in the final five minutes to give Sunderland a home win against Crewe.
