Phil Parkinson’s Sunderland battered League One rivals Rochdale at the Stadium of Light with Chris Maguire and Lynden Gooch starring.
Sunderland coach Steve Parkin singled out Chris Maguire for praise after The Black Cats swept Rochdale aside at the Stadium of Light, speaking to the Sunderland Echo.
Manager of the Month curse? What Manager of the Month curse?
The superstitious members of the Sunderland support might have grimaced at the sight of Phil Parkinson holding aloft a shiny new mantelpiece ornament recently but, after a brief wobble at Portsmouth, the North East giants appear to have extended their impressive recent form into February.
Sunderland were simply irresistible as Rochdale arrived on Wearside, racing into a three goal lead inside the first half. The outstanding Lynden Gooch will dominate the headlines but it was fellow winger Maguire, the author of two assists on the night, who assistant coach Parkin singled out at full-time.
“He’s alright!” Parkin quipped of an explosive attacker who scored the winner against Ipswich on Saturday too.
“I think he’s a player playing with a lot of confidence. He’s a tremendous crosser of the ball, if you give him half a yard he will put in a good area.
“He’s been a key player for us and he’s enjoying his football.”
Parkin was thrilled by the way that Sunderland ripped into their ball-playing opponents from the off, flying down the wings with Maguire and Gooch all-but unplayable.
“We’ve been more or less playing like that for five or six weeks, getting the ball wide, switching the play, backing that up by getting people on the edge of the box. We lock attacks in and in difficult conditions, some of the play was exceptional.”
Any Sunderland fans who were fretting about life after Aiden McGeady will have barely given the enigmatic wideman a second thought on Tuesday night.
In Maguire, a player with 11 goals and nine assists to his name, the Black Cats have a man more than capable of stepping into the Irishman’s boots.
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