Luke O'Nien name-drops four Sunderland players in dressing room revelation | OneFootball

Sunderland midfielder Luke O'Nien has revealed that club skipper Corry Evans continues to have a big influence in the dressing room despite his current injury, and has name-dropped three others he considers leaders behind the scenes at the Stadium of Light.

The club skipper was ruled out for the rest of the season back in February with an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury, and having received such devastating news, he'd have been forgiven for wanting to take a step back from things.

However, O'Nien revealed that the Northern Irishman is having as big an influence as ever behind the scenes.

“Even Corry [Evans] for example, he’s in the changing room and still has an influence,” O’Nien explained, via the Sunderland Echo.

“He’s still our skipper and has an impact from the sidelines.

"He’s still a big presence in the changing room, you ask him about the game and he’ll give us feedback and it will help you."

Fortunately, though, Sunderland do not solely rely on Evans for leadership, O'Nien says.

Indeed, the current make-shift left-back claims that the squad is blessed with leadership, name-dropping several players who are not afraid to be vocal behind the scenes.

“Danny Batth has always been a leader and without the armband he’s a leader in terms of his presence and the way he plays." O'Nien added.

"Danny Ballard as well, Patto [Anthony Patterson] in goal, we’ve got multiple leaders around the place and he’s [Batth] been delivering week in, week out and I enjoy playing next to him.

"I enjoy talking to him because he’s played at some real high levels and I’m just keen to learn all the time.

“I know every single player loves him, we enjoy having him in the team and he’s just solid all round on the pitch. Off the pitch, he’s just a good guy.”'

Sunderland currently sit 11th in the Championship as they prepare to face Burnley on Friday night.

Kick off at Turf Moor is scheduled for 8PM, and a victory could see Sunderland move to ninth in the standings ahead of Saturday's fixtures.

The Verdict

It's great to hear that Corry Evans is still well and truly involved behind the scenes at Sunderland.

I know some may think he's the club captain and so he should be, and they might be right, but after being on the end of a season-ending injury, he would be forgiven for wanting a bit of time away from that, in honesty.

It's also great to hear that the club have several leaders, too, and what I particularly enjoyed was some of the younger names being highlighted in Dan Ballard and Anthony Patterson.