As Sunderland's promotion push regains momentum, Phil Parkinson chats to the Sky Sports EFL Podcast about dealing with pressure, a newfound cohesion and taking inspiration from Liverpool.
Thursday 30 January 2020 11:02, UK
"You've got to be thick-skinned as a manager," said Sunderland boss Phil Parkinson.
As obvious as the statement might be, the 52-year-old knows this more than most. He was, of course, the man at the helm during all the plight at Bolton; the man keeping a brave face and holding the fort as everything seemed to be crumbling around him.
So when the Black Cats slumped to their lowest-ever league position of 15th in Sky Bet League One on Boxing Day - following a stalemate with Bolton, of all possible opponents - solving the problem was a relative walk in the park in comparison.
"It was tough and it created a frustration with the supporters, which I understood," he told the Sky Sports EFL Podcast. "It's not ideal, but I didn't take it personally. I understood that it is the sheer passion in the city for the club.
"People speak about pressure a lot and the pressure of this job, but pressure is being at Bolton, not getting paid for five months - the players and all the staff. That was very difficult to go through, this is enjoyable.
"I'm enjoying the challenge every single day I come into work. We (myself and my staff) understood the size of the job when we were given it and we know what we've got to do. We're confident we can keep building the team to give us a great chance of being right at the top at the end of the season."
There's no hiding from the fact it has been a rough few years on Wearside.
His predecessor Jack Ross compared the task of attempting to alter the club's fortunes to "turning an oil tanker" and he was proved right last season when the club not only lost the EFL Trophy final to Portsmouth in March, but fell to a stoppage-time defeat to Charlton in the League One play-off final less than two months later.
The Scot was sacked in the wake of a 2-0 defeat to Lincoln at Sincil Bank in early October, less than 18 months into his tenure, with Parkinson installed in his place nine days later. His appointment brought the inevitable hope of salvaging the promotion push, but when just two wins were recorded in the first 14 games in all competitions, the aforementioned pressure crept in.
For the ex-Bury and Reading midfielder, remaining resilient, while trying to ditch the sense of entitlement at the club, was key to getting the season back on the right track.
"You've also got to look to find solutions and respond in the right way," he continued. "We're not the first club to find ourselves in the third tier of English football. When I came in there was a feeling of, 'We're Sunderland, we should be winning this game and we should be winning that game'.
"We looked at it and said we've got no divine right to win; the stadium doesn't win us games, the history doesn't. We've got to start doing it on the pitch consistently; we've got to get the elements in place to give us the best chance of doing that."
Since losing 1-0 to Gillingham on December 7, the Black Cats have embarked on a gradual climb back up the third tier standings, rising from the depths unbeaten to occupy the final play-off spot ahead of Saturday's clash with old foes Portsmouth.
But what is behind the sudden turnaround? With nine players having started each of the last six league fixtures, consistency in team selection is no doubt playing its part.
"It was a bit of a muddled start when I came in, with a couple of key players injured and then we had a run of cup games - four cup games in succession - where we changed the team and formation and were trying to have a look at everybody. It's only now we've got a bit of cohesion and that's shown in the results.
"It's great when it happens because it shows the lads in the team are doing well, but equally I've been pleased with the lads who've been out of the team because the standards in training have been outstanding and they've driven the lads in the team on each day.
"As every manager knows, that is so important that the lads out of the team are right behind the ones in it in the dressing room before the game, at the end and every single day on the training pitch. We've got some good players knocking on the door, waiting for their chance and it's keeping the lads in the team on their toes. There's a good spirit in the camp."
An uneventful clash with Doncaster in front of the Sky Sports cameras last Friday night - where the division's two best defences went toe-to-toe - producing a dour stalemate and showed the project remains a work in progress.
Automatic promotion back to the Championship remains an achievable target, particularly given the recent poor form of early trailblazers Ipswich and Wycombe, but though there are 48 league positions between Liverpool and Sunderland, Parkinson is continuing to echo the perpetual message of Reds captain Jordan Henderson.
"I can say honestly we are just concentrating on the games as they come up. I listened to Liverpool the other night and one of their players was saying the same thing. Flying high at the top, way clear, they aren't thinking of the prize. We're certainly not. We've got a lot of work to do and I feel we are only just getting starting to get the team playing the way we want it to.
"It's about accepting that there will be different periods in the season where things don't go your way and you've got to find a way through that. Each week, it's concentrating on the training, making sure that's right, trying to improve each individual player as we go along. That's what we're trying to do and we're enjoying it at the moment."
