Luke O’Nien offers honest Tony Mowbray assessment ahead of Sunderland’s clash with Blackpool | OneFootball

Luke O’Nien has lauded the impact that Tony Mowbray has made at Sunderland and has admitted that he is enjoying playing under his new manager.

Mowbray was handed over the reins at the Stadium of Light in August following Alex Neil’s decision to move to Stoke City.

Since his appointment, Mowbray has made a relatively promising start to his spell in charge of the Black Cats.

In the five league games that the 58-year-old has overseen, Sunderland have managed to accumulate a respectable total of eight points.

Currently eighth in the Championship standings, the Black Cats will be looking to get back to winning ways at this level when they face Blackpool tomorrow after recently being forced to settle for a draw in their meeting with Preston North End.

Having featured against the Lilywhites, O’Nien is likely to make his 12th appearance of the season for Sunderland in their showdown with the Seasiders.

Ahead of this fixture, O’Nien has offered an honest assessment on Mowbray.

Speaking to Chronicle Live about the Black Cats boss, the 27-year-old said: “He’s been brilliant.

“His door is always open and he’s always talking to the boys.

“The gaffer has been great with us and given us information and is working us hard.

“I’ve really enjoyed working under him and just looking forward to him more.”

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The Verdict

For Sunderland’s sake, they will be hoping to push on in the Championship under the guidance of Mowbray after showing some signs of encouragement in their recent fixtures.

Deployed exclusively as a centre-back by Mowbray, O’Nien is likely to feature again in this particular role on Tuesday.

The former Wycombe Wanderers man has illustrated that he is capable of competing at this level in the opening stages of the campaign as he has made 2.3 interceptions, 1.4 tackles and 2.7 clearances per fixture.

Currently averaging a respectable WhoScored match rating of 6.72 in the Championship, it will be interesting to see whether O’Nien is able to improve as a player under the guidance of Mowbray during the remainder of the campaign.