MIKE Dodds is sure that he will not lose sight of how he wants his Sunderland team to play in the absence of star player Jack Clark.
Dodds admits he may have to play with the setup and experiment in the coming weeks, with Clarke out until April due to ankle ligament injuries.
However, he thinks that his team will not take a step back and will remain upbeat despite the absence of their leading scorer.
“I think there’s got to be a strapline in all the games as to what Sunderland are,” Dodds told the BBC.
“I do not believe we can remain inactive in any of the games. I was questioned about the Leeds game, and the question meant that we sat off them. If you watch the game back, you’ll notice that we denied them space, but when the ball came into particular areas of the pitch, we were incredibly aggressive and on the front foot.
“So it might be a case that we might have to concede some territory, but in terms of a Sunderland team, we can’t be passive and we won’t be passive how we approach the game.”
Sunderland’s Championship play-off prospects have diminished after three consecutive defeats, and their chances of finishing in the top six for the second time in a row have been further hampered by this week’s Clarke setback.
Dodds characterized the injury as a “crushing blow” but is looking forward to the challenge that awaits him at Norwich tomorrow.
He stated: “Regardless of whether Jack Clarke is involved or not, we still have a running thread of how we want Sunderland to appear, and it will be my role over the next 12 games to find a solution to that.
“To be honest, I’m looking forward to the task of that; it’s going to be a big challenge for me, and I believe it would be a real challenge for the most experienced coach who could sit here.
“When you take someone of his quality out of your armoury, you can have the most experienced coach in the world sat here and it would be a challenge, but that’s something I’m looking forward to over the next period and it’s something where I won’t leave any stone unturned to find a solution to make sure that we go into every single game with a mindset that we’re going to win the game.”
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