Tony Mowbray explains Sunderland selection decision from win over Millwall | OneFootball

Sunderland head coach Tony Mowbray says the decision not to start defender Dennis Cirkin in his side’s 3-0 win over Millwall on Saturday was a tactical one.

Cirkin has been a regular feature in the Black Cats side so far this season, with all 14 of his Championship appearances prior to Saturday’s game coming as a starter.

However, the 20-year-old found himself forced to settle for a place on the bench at the Stadium of Light for Saturday’s game, only coming off the bench as an 80th minute substitute.

Instead, it was Aji Alese who was given the nod to start in the backline, and it seems that was a tactical decision made by Mowbray, based on the threat he expected his side to be posed by Millwall.

Explaining why Cirkin was not part of the starting lineup for Saturday’s game, the Black Cats boss told the Sunderland Echo: “I had a conversation with Dennis before the game because he deserves to play, he’s been amazing since I came to the club.

“But we’re playing Millwall and 63% of their goals come from set plays, I felt we needed Aji’s height and his strength in the air. It was just a decision I had to make, they’re difficult conversations.”

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Following that win, Sunderland are now tenth in the Championship table, just one point adrift of the play-off places.

The Verdict

It does not feel like a huge surprise that Mowbray made this decision for that reason on Saturday.

The Sunderland boss is certainly one who has shown over the years that he thinks deeply about how top cope with the challenges posed by opposition sides, and will often tailor his selection around that.

With that in mind, you can understand why he might have selected Alese for this game, considering the extra presence he offers at the back against a physical Millwall side.

Given the way that the result played out, and the clean sheet that Sunderland were able to keep, it does seem as though this selection decision from Mowbray, has paid off.