Luke O’Nien’s Sunderland message to Nazariy Rusyn, Adil Aouchiche and club’s other new signings

Luke O’Nien says Sunderland’s new signings are starting to stamp their mark on the team and has called for them to keep showing their personality both on and off the pitch.

The Black Cats brought in several young attacking players from overseas in the summer, including Nazariy Rusyn, Adil Aouchiche and Eliezer Mayenda, who all featured in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Plymouth.

When asked about Rusyn, who has started the side’s last four games but is still searching for his first Black Cats goal, O’Nien told the Echo: “He’s been really good. His personality is starting to come out in the group which is only going to help him on and off the pitch. The other lads as well, they are starting to stamp their mark on the team.

“It’s important they keep bringing their personality out and putting it onto the pitch. Adil came on and I think every time he’s come on he’s started to show how good he can be. I think he has to just keep bringing that out, as well as the other players.”

The game at Plymouth means Sunderland have gone 22 competitive league games without a recognised striker scoring, dating back to April when Joe Gelhardt was on target in a 1-1 draw against Huddersfield. 

Still, Sunderland have found other ways to score this term, with O’Nien calling for perspective. “Only five teams have scored more goals than us this season,” he added. “Just because sometimes they (the strikers) are not scoring, they are doing the movements to let other people score and doing a lot of hard work. As long as the team are up there for goals scored that’s the main thing.”

O’Nien has also taken on more responsibility this season, wearing the captain’s armband while Corry Evans remains sidelined with an injury. Following the summer departures of Lynden Gooch and Danny Batth, other members of the squad have also stepped up in a young squad, which has the youngest average age in the Championship.

“I think I have to realise that I’m one of the senior lads,” explained O’Nien, who is into his sixth season at Sunderland. “It’s important for me to realise sometimes it’s difficult coming into such a big club with high expectations, trying to help young players focus on the right things.

“Equally I still have a lot to learn as well. I’m learning off the younger players, people like Jobe, he’s a leader just as much as myself and it’s important that these guys pull the team just as much as I will. 

“Having those players like Jobe and the young players, they’ve got to see themselves as leaders. They have to impact the game, they’ve got to set the values on the squad day in, day out in training. Slowly we are getting a really, really good base and we have to keep growing that.

“You’ve got Dacky (Bradley Dack) and Pritch (Alex Pritchard) who haven’t played as many minutes, and Corry who has been injured, they are offering advice day in, day out for anyone that needs it. It’s been a collective effort. I’ve enjoyed the start of the season but equally there is that side to all of us where we want to be better and want more. The fans as well have that high expectation and we are trying to match that.”