The Black Cats are yet to keep a clean sheet this season, which has frustrated many a Stadium of Light supporter.
Sunderland defender Alim Ozturk has spoken about one of the main issues with the Black Cats squad at present, namely their struggles to keep clean sheets (official website).
The Stadium of Light outfit has not kept a single clean sheet this season in all competitions, and although they’ve lost just once, they have also picked up three draws in League One.
In particular, the 1-1 draw with Rotherham United in midweek prompted a fair bit of criticism by fans, with Conor McLaughlin coming under particular scrutiny for his struggles against Jake Hastie.
Speaking at Thursday’s pre-match press conference ahead of Sunderland’s trip to Bolton Wanderers on Saturday, Ozturk began by praising the fans for their support, with four thousand expected to make the trip to the University of Bolton Stadium.
“Our fans are amazing and to have 4,000 at Bolton is absolutely fantastic,” he told the official website. “If they are behind us, then everything will be okay. They really can be the difference for the team.”
Moving on to the issue of clean sheets, Ozturk added: “If we win every game but don’t keep a clean sheet then you are happy, but it makes it harder to win football matches if you aren’t keeping the opposition out.
“It will come. I don’t think Rotherham had many chances and they were clinical with the one they got. So, I know that we will start to keep clean sheets in the coming weeks.”
Sunderland are currently fourth in League One, four points behind pacesetters Coventry City, while Bolton are rooted to the bottom of the table on minus 10.
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