Luke O’Nien sends message after confirmed Dodds departure at Sunderland

Sunderland defender Luke O’Nien has taken to X to send his best wishes to ex-coach Mike Dodds following his departure to Wycombe Wanderers. 

Prior to the 3-2 victory against Middlesbrough, Sunderland confirmed that Dodds would be seeking greener pastures, taking the vacant managerial position at League One Wycombe. 

Dodds played a crucial role behind the scenes at the Black Cats with his impact on the players put into words by O’Nien when reacting to his exit. 

Via his X account (5 February), O’Nien said: “I can’t express how great [Dodds] has been for this football club.

“I wish all you fans truly knew how important he has been to us all as players! Ask anyone and they will tell you the same thing. Mike Dodds, I can’t thank you enough! Good luck.”

Mike Dodds will be a huge miss at Sunderland

When his name comes to mind, many will look back at the failures of last season and associate him with what happened on the pitch.

While part of that may be relevant, Dodds has played a massive role on Wearside both on and off the pitch with his relationship with the players clearly one of his biggest draws

The Black Cats were able to give Dodds an excellent send-off with a comeback against Boro to maintain their promotion hopes and if Sunderland are to go on and achieve that, Dodds will undoubtedly receive a lot of praise for his role. 

However, there is a long way to go to achieve that and the potential impact of his absence must be considered. 

As it stands, Sunderland find themselves eight points behind Leeds at the summit, albeit with a game in hand and a trip to Elland Road still to come in the coming weeks but they have an excellent opportunity to make this run in count. 

In other Sunderland news, this Women’s starlet was nominated for an award. 

For more Sunderland news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone