Sunderland's patched-up team in the final weeks of the season proved it is possible to turn every negative into a positive, according to Tony Mowbray. The Black Cats were stretched for large parts of the season, most notably with no natural centre-forward for the second half of the campaign after Ellis Simms was recalled from his loan spell by Everton and Ross Stewart picked up an injury, while at times they struggled for cover in the full-back positions.
But it was the lack of central defenders that really took its toll, with Aji Alese suffering a thigh injury in March which meant he made just one substitute appearance for the rest of the season, while Dan Ballard picked up a hamstring problem the same month which kept him out for the remainder of the season, and Danny Batth then sustained a knee injury in April which brought his campaign to a premature end. That left Sunderland to complete the season - and go into the play-offs - with a back three of versatile defender Luke O'Nien, in between Trai Hume, and Lynden Gooch who had to swap their usual full-back roles for those of central defenders.
Asked about having to go into the play-offs with such an unorthodox back line, Mowbray - a centre-back during his playing days - recalled his own stint at being played out of position by Middlesbrough's then-boss Malcolm Allison in the early 1980s. "I think adversity is a strong bonder of players," Mowbray said.
