Moyes has seen improvement in his defender’s recent outings, but needs to keep reminding him about certain aspects of his game.
Sunderland manager David Moyes has been pleased with the improvement shown from Patrick van Aanholt in recent weeks, the Sunderland Echo reports.
Van Aanholt was dropped from the side in October amid concerns about his defending but since coming off the bench to score an equaliser against West Bromwich Albion he has been an ever present in the side.
Moyes is quoted in the Sunderland Echo, saying: “We have had to dig him out at times and we are on his case big time.
Sunderland’s Patrick van Aanholt
“Against Liverpool we saw an awful lot of things we didn’t like.
“He has great ability going forward and we want him to keep doing that, we want our full backs to be attacking, we want them to join in and give us width at times.
“But their first job is to make sure they are good defenders and they stop crosses and to make sure they are at the back post to defend balls in from the opposite side of the pitch.
“So, he needs telling regularly and we keep on at him.”
Sunderland’s Patrick van Aanholt in action with Liverpool’s Sadio Mane
Clearly Moyes thinks the Dutchman has some ability. Technically he is very comfortable with the ball at his feet and seems to offer some drive and potency going forward. But as is usually the case with full-backs that like to advance up the pitch, their defending gets heavily scrutinised as they tend to be the players that can get caught out when the side is on the back foot.
Moyes has seen improvement in the areas he wants from van Aanholt in recent weeks, so he admits he ‘keeps on at him’ in order to ensure his level doesn’t drop. The Sunderland boss clearly wants his back line to be solid and be thoughtful in the way they approach the game.
Sunderland manager David Moyes before the match
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