Sunderland boss Mike Dodds says Jobe Bellingham does not need a rest

Jobe Bellingham appears to be as fit as ever, according to statistics, and Mike Dawson has refuted any notion that he needs a break.

 

Bellingham is enjoying a very active first full season in the Championship after

joining Sunderland from Birmingham City in the summer.

 

The 18-year-old is predicted to start for the Black Cats’ home game against

Leicester City this evening. He has started 32 of the team’s 35 league games this season.

The young player may benefit from a stint away from the club since it has been stated in recent weeks that he is not playing at his best.

 

Dodds acknowledges that he is always aware of Bellingham’s age—the midfielder does not turn 19 until

September—but he is adamant that the statistics indicates the teen’s physical prowess is still excellent.

“We need to exercise caution because he is eighteen years old,” stated Sunderland’s acting manager. The best part about my job, though, is that we have access to a ton of data about running speeds, distance traveled, and other related topics. We would need to pay attention to it if we sensed a significant decline in what he provides for us.

“However, there is one thing I would say about Jobe: he consistently ranks in the top half when it comes to running distance, intensity, and other related metrics. We continuously watch all of the players, and if we notice anything that the sport science department or the physiotherapists notice that could indicate that a player is flatlining or possibly becoming fatigued, you have that discussion.

 

“The truth is that he plays a great deal of distance for us, and I really don’t want to

be that person who talks about numbers all the time. His high-speed running

distance during the second half of the match against Swansea was among the

greatest of the season, thus he become more powerful as that one continued.

“Given that he is eighteen, I totally understand it being a talking point, but we are monitoring it and will take appropriate action if the time comes for us to make a decision.”

 

One of the players who might start for Sunderland in place of Bellingham is Adil Aouchiche. However, although the

Frenchman was rising to prominence under Tony Mowbray, he has fallen back

into the background under both Dodds and his predecessor, Michael Beale.

 

Aouchiche did not play in Sunderland’s loss to Norwich City last weekend;

nevertheless, Dodds, who has spoken with the forward recently, believes he is

moving closer to making his first start for the senior team since December.

“We’ve got Adil in a position where he’s got a level of concentration and focus that’s really important for a head coach if you’re going to pick a player,” the head coach remarked after speaking with Adil this week. “I don’t think he’s a million miles away from the team; I think we’ve got him in a good spot right now.”

 

“My challenge when choosing a team is evaluating Adil’s strengths and attributes and determining if they are

complementing the opposition in a positive or negative way. Hence, the key

is to identify the ideal occasion to make the most of Adil’s abilities.

 

We’ve spoken with him for quite some time on his level of attentiveness and

concentration, which has greatly improved. So, yes, because of that, he doesn’t think very differently than we do.