"Slightly annoyed" - Luke O'Nien reacts to Sunderland AFC departure | OneFootball

Luke O'Nien has reacted to Mike Dodds' move from Sunderland to Wycombe Wanderers

Luke O’Nien has given his response to Mike Dodds’ departure from Sunderland to Wycombe Wanderers.

Régis Le Bris’ assistant coach has made the switch to the League One outfit as their replacement for Matt Bloomfield.

Wanderers are in the mix for automatic promotion to the Championship, but needed a new manager after Bloomfield made the switch to Luton Town last month.

Dodds previously took charge as interim manager at Sunderland before Le Bris was permanently appointed in the summer, and has been with the Black Cats since 2021.

Luke O’Nien issues Mike Dodds message

O’Nien has admitted his disappointment at Dodds’ departure from Sunderland, praising him as the best coach he ever worked with.

The defender believes that his former club Wycombe are getting a fantastic manager, crediting the 38-year-old for getting the best out of him.

“Congrats on appointing Mike Dodds as your head coach!” wrote O’Nien, via Wycombe’s Instagram account.

“Slightly annoyed at the same time that my former club has taken the best coach I have ever worked under away from me.

“But also buzzing that you guys get to experience what I have done over the last three years; a manager with an incredible football brain, who made me love the game in ways I didn’t know and gave me incredible clarity going into each game on what I and the team needed to do.

“I wouldn’t be competing at the top of the Championship without how he has developed me both on and off the pitch.

“Look after him for us please and I look forward to following your every game as have done since I left your great club.”

Wycombe are currently second in the League One table, four points behind leaders Birmingham City but with two more games played than their automatic promotion rivals.

Dodds appointment will be interesting for Wycombe

Bringing in Dodds is a risk given his relative lack of managerial experience.

He took over Sunderland in the second half of last season on an interim basis, but things didn’t go too well for the team in the end as they finished 16th in the Championship table.

The fact Wycombe are right in the mix for a top two spot in League One also means he has to hit the ground running, or else their promotion hopes could take a big dent.

O’Nien has praised him extremely well, and supporters will be excited by what he’s said, but the proof will be in the pudding over the next several weeks.