Bailey Wright makes admission about his place in the Sunderland team this season | OneFootball

As a result of Sunderland’s strong start to the season, which has seen them unbeaten in the league so far, Bailey Wright is yet to earn a place in the Sunderland starting line-up.

The defender did make his first appearance of the season on Tuesday as the Black Cats lost 2-0 to Sheffield Wednesday.

However, as his side return to league action this weekend, the 30-year-old will be competing with Danny Batth and Dan Ballard to get back into the team.

Wright admits he can understand the reasoning behind Alex Neil’s decision though as he told the Chronicle: “I can’t argue [with the team selection], I’m not stupid to say that I should just play.

“The lads have done really well and I’ve got a role to play. I think we have got a real top quality group of players and staff and a togetherness which is a strength of ours.”

However, whilst wanting to carry on the positive start to the season, the defender is also keen to work hard and fight for his place in the side as he said: “It’s about not getting complacent and pushing each other every day. You get your chance if you work hard and keep lads on their toes and keep pushing yourself.

“It [Wednesday’s cup game] was an opportunity to put yourself in the thought process for the manager.

“With every opportunity you are representing Sunderland and yourself, and you don’t look at it and say there’s 11 changes. We won’t get too down [about the cup defeat] and will learn from it.

“It was nice to get out there, get some minutes, but obviously we wanted to win. Sheffield Wednesday are a good side, we saw that last year.

“It was an opportunity for a few of use to play and make our mark, and try to push to get into that first XI for league games. I thought there was a lot of good play but sometimes we were our own worst enemies.”

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As Wright says, it’s understandable why Neil has lined up the way he has in his first two league games of the season and it’s served him well so far.

However, the 30-year-old will be eager to play as much football as he can this season and therefore will be eager to make it into the starting line-up.

That being said, Wednesday’s performance against Sheffield Wednesday probably didn’t help any of the rotated players stake a claim for a spot in the side.

Therefore, Wright will have to keep the intensity and work rate high on the training pitch and be prepared to take his chance when it comes.