Lynden Gooch shares challenge Sunderland boss Chris Coleman has given him

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Sunderland midfielder Lynden Gooch has provided two assists in his last two matches.

Lynden Gooch has told the Northern Echo that Sunderland boss Chris Coleman set him the challenge of becoming more productive in the final third.

Gooch was handed plenty of game time over the early stage of the season, but Coleman was not so impressed with what he saw during his initial time at the helm.

The American was then taken out of Sunderland’s line-up and told to go back to playing for the under-23’s.

Coleman wanted Gooch to start producing more in the final third, and the Welsh boss’s words appear to have worked.

Gooch has provided two assists in his last two outings now, matching his tally for his 20 previous appearances this season.

And Gooch said: “To be fair to the gaffer he set me the challenge of doing better in the final third, I was getting in to good positions but needed to get more goals and more assists, making better decisions.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do in training and when I’ve played for the Under-23s, it was good to do that in the first team and hopefully if I can keep doing that we’ll get the points we need on the board.”

Gooch now looks likely to keep his place in Sunderland’s line-up for the remainder of the season.

The Black Cats are next in action on Saturday when they take on Leeds United, with three points badly needed.