Danny Batth was the natural choice to take on Sunderland's captain's armband following Corry Evans' season-ending injury, according to Luke O'Nien. Influential Northern Ireland midfielder Evans captained the side until suffering knee ligament damage in late January which brought his campaign to a premature end.
But Sunderland are not short of leaders in the dressing room and as one of the senior figures with Championship experience, centre-back Batth has carried on where Evans left off. O'Nien says Evans is still involved despite his injury, but Batth has taken on increased responsibilities now he is wearing the armband.
"Corry is still in the changing room and still has an influence," said O'Nien. "He's still our skipper and has an impact from the sidelines.
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"He's still a big presence in the changing room, you ask him about the game and he'll give us feedback and it will help you. Danny Batth has always been a leader and even without the armband he was a leader in terms of his presence and the way he plays.
"Danny Ballard as well, Patto [Anthony Patterson] in goal - we've got multiple leaders around the place - but Danny [Batth] has been delivering week-in, week-out and I enjoy playing next to him. I enjoy talking to him because he's played at some real high levels and I'm just keen to learn all the time.
"I know every single player loves him, we enjoy having him in the team and he's just solid all round on the pitch. Off the pitch he's just a good guy."
One of O'Nien's key strengths is his versatility and at various times this season he has operated in both full-back roles, in central defence, and in midfield. Boss Tony Mowbray sees him primarily as a defender, but O'Nien is happy to fill in wherever necessary.
Batth has also helped O'Nien on the pitch, with the pair playing alongside each other in central defence on numerous occasions when Dan Ballard was injured earlier in the season, and more recently when Batth has played on the left side of central defence and O'Nien has been playing at left-back. O'Nien said: "If you take every moment in isolation you have to make decisions and it's all about decision-making and where you position yourself.
"It's the same in midfield as at left-back, you have to position yourself differently because you are in different parts of the pitch, but the overall detail is still the same. I have to read how the game is unfolding, close down, win the ball and be good on the ball.
"Whatever position I'm playing I just see it like what's the next decision, trying to stay present and read what's going on in front of me. It makes my job really easy when I'm next to Danny Batth, he talks to me, communicates and we try to shut down any threats coming down from the left.
"I approach every game by just doing my homework, I learn again. I still have lots of learning to do and will be looking at my clips with Veno [Mowbray's assistant Mark Venus] to see how I can improve at left-back and in all positions."
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