Tony Mowbray has explained that leaving Dan Neil out against Blackpool was a 'gamble' to allow him to play an extra attacker. Midfielder Neil dropped to the bench in midweek, with his place in the side taken by Amad Diallo.
But rather than any loss of form from the academy product, Mowbray says his decision was based on his desire to include Amad up front to increase the Black Cats' goal threat as they look for solutions in the absence of injured centre-forwards Ross Stewart and Ellis Simms. And the head coach also revealed he had considered leaving out Corry Evans instead of Neil to accommodate Amad, although in the end he felt Evans' experience was needed.
"I had a decision to make, really," said Mowbray, whose side fought out a goalless draw against the Seasiders. "I wanted to put another attacking player on the pitch, so I gambled with playing with five attackers rather than the four that we'd been playing with.
