Can Lee Johnson go a step further to become more than just a ‘nearly manager’ at Sunderland?

Sunderland continue to be the sleepiest of giants in the EFL, but the appointment of Lee Johnson looks to be a step in the right direction for the Wearsiders.

Despite not getting the anticipated new manager bounce in the defeat to Wigan Athletic last weekend, Johnson had barely got his feet under the table at the Stadium of Light after officially being announced as the club’s new manager.

A win over Oldham in the Papa John’s Trophy has lifted the mood as the Black Cats travel down to promotion hopefuls Lincoln City this weekend, keen to get momentum back into their promotion push. So what do Sunderland fans expect from their new gaffer?

After a four year stint in the Ashton Gate hot seat, Johnson’s Bristol City side were already beginning to wobble before the pandemic hit back in March.

Four back to back defeats following the restart meant enough was enough for the City’s board. Despite laying the groundwork for Bristol to become a promotion-chasing side, they never really quite got there.

However, considering that Johnson had developed them from relegation material on arrival, to enjoying a famous League Cup run (beating Manchester United along the way) and flirting with the Play-Offs, he can consider himself slightly unlucky that he underachieved and will remain a popular face in Bristol.

Having sold three key players in previous summers, Joe Bryan, Bobby Reid and Marlon Pack, Johnson was still tasked with delivering a top-six finish for City. 

Despite having to navigate serious injuries last season (Tomas Kalas, Jay Dasilva and Benik Afobe) he kept City in Play-Off contention for the majority of the campaign before tailing away badly when it mattered.

A lack of identity was bemoaned as City ran out of steam and limped to a disappointing 12th place finish, not that Johnson got to see the rest of the season out (defeat to Cardiff in early July was his final game).

He received criticism from certain sections of supporters for his perceived tactical naivety and that he didn’t really know his best XI or formation throughout his period in charge.

Whilst City could more than compete with the bigger boys in the Championship on their day, they were guilty of not imposing themselves on the perceived lesser sides and grinding out results needed to mount a serious promotion push.

For the large duration at Ashton Gate, Bristol were a nearly team. Maintaining that consistency was their Achilles heel and he’ll be keen to dispel any suggestion that he’s a ‘nearly’ manager.

Despite those deficiencies, Sunderland supporters should expect a team that will be determined and fully committed to the cause. Johnson’s been biding to find his next challenge and they won’t come any bigger than at the Stadium of Light.

One of his first objectives will be to get his strikers firing with three of his strikers yet to register their first goals of the season. Will Grigg has been far from on fire and surprisingly, experienced Championship campaigners Danny Graham and Aiden O’Brien simply hadn’t delivered under Phil Parkinson. So far, the Black Cats have been over-reliant on Charlie Wyke in front of goal (an impressive eight-goal tally). 

Johnson has already earmarked the challenge to get Will Grigg firing back on all cylinders as what looked an almost shoo-in of a successful signing when he switched Championship life at Wigan to sign for Sunderland in January 2019.

With only eight goals in 59 starts, Grigg hardly enamoured himself to Wearsiders announcing that he had never really wanted to leave Wigan.

“I absolutely loved my time at Wigan and, in hindsight, I probably should not have moved.”

With some reparation work to be done with the fanbase, Johnson will be doing all he can to help his striker out of the current rut.  He’s already looking to reignite the Northern Irish striker back into the kind of form that saw him average a goal every two and a half games for the Latics. 

“It’s a numbers game, and for a centre-forward, you can’t fear keep getting in there.

“For me, it’ll be encouraging him to keep daring to fail by making sure that you keep making that box.

“Eventually, you’ll get those three or four goals on the spin where you get those little ricochets or a lovely little finish, and all of a sudden the confidence comes back and you dink one over the keeper

“Then the fans come back onside and Will Grigg’s on fire again.”

The Sunderland boss knows he has to get more out of his proven Championship players to get Sunderland challenging at the end of the season.

Aiden McGeady is another player that will be looking to make the most of a fresh start having been frozen out of first-team action under Parkinson. McGeady was restored back into the starting line up last weekend and similarly to Grigg, he’ll be looking to make the most of a second opportunity under his new manager. 

Despite the drop in division, the expectations will have certainly gone up a notch up or two from what Lee Johnson experienced in Bristol and you’d fancy that would’ve been a big draw; to achieve his ambitions of getting a promotion campaign on his CV. 

Lincoln City on the other hand are currently exceeding expectations and have an opportunity to move into pole position in League One over the weekend. Quietly going under the radar, Michael Appleton’s men are now establishing themselves as genuine promotion candidates.

Lincoln recorded their third win on the bounce in all competitions following their disappointing 2-0 defeat to Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup. An emphatic 4-1 win over Shrewsbury Town in the Papa John’s Trophy with a host of fringe players will have done the Imps confidence no harm at all after a convincing win at Rochdale and overcoming Wigan in a late show the previous Tuesday.

Appleton will be fully aware that Sunderland’s defeat to Wigan under Johnson may have been a red herring of a result considering that they too had only narrowly overcome the Latics a week before.

“They’ve a strong squad that a lot of people in the division would be delighted to have, with a lot of big names in there but who probably think they should be plying their trade in the Championship.

“We know it’s going to be a difficult game, we’ll stay humble, we’ll stay hungry and try and make it as difficult as we possibly can for the opposition.”

Considering the desolation that the city felt when the Cowley Brothers left for Huddersfield last season, Michael Appleton has got the Imps supporters feeling quietly confident as they nestle just below leaders Hull City in the table. A further win on Saturday may well have them officially showing up on the radar as very much a team to be on the lookout for.

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