Sunderland midfielder Luke O’Nien has sent a message to former Black Cats manager Lee Johnson following his sacking earlier this week.
Johnson was relieved of his duties on the back of last Saturday’s humiliating 6-0 defeat at Bolton Wanderers, their heaviest loss in almost seven and a half years, when they were beaten 8-0 by Southampton in the Premier League.
He does, though, leave with the club still in the mix for a place in the automatic promotion places, as Sunderland sit third in the table, just two points adrift of second place Wigan Athletic, who do, however, have three games in hand.
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The 40-year-old took charge of 76 matches during his 13-month spell with the club, winning 41 of those.
Johnson ended the Black Cats’ run of seven consecutive final defeats at Wembley last year by beating Tranmere Rovers 1-0 in the final of the EFL Trophy.
And via his official Twitter account, O’Nien has revealed how grateful he is to Johnson not just for that Wembley triumph, but for how he developed him as a player.
O’Nien established himself as an indispensable player to the Black Cats during Johnson’s time at the Stadium of Light.
Via stats from Transfermarkt, he made 50 appearances while Johnson was in charge of the club, scoring four goals and providing one assist.
The former Wycombe man also played in a number of positions under Johnson as he spent almost the entirety of last season at either centre back or right back.
O’Nien returned to his more familiar midfield role for the start of the current campaign but then had to also fill in at left back, showing just how important his versatility was to Johnson’s squad.
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