Sunderland are currently stuck in a horrible rut.
Lee Johnson’s men haven’t won in five matches and in the space of a fortnight; they’ve seen their automatic promotion hopes dusted.
On the chalkboard
Sunderland’s chances of securing promotion this season won’t be made any easier by the news emerging regarding Aiden McGeady.
The Irishman missed their 2-2 draw with Hull City in midweek because of a bruised foot which, given he’s got 13 assists to his name this term, was a huge blow.
It doesn’t look good for McGeady’s involvement this weekend either. Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon, Johnson admitted: “I would put him at 50-50.”
The boss continued: "He is tough and he wants to play, but his foot is still very bruised even though it is only a superficial injury, if you like - it's nothing bone or ligament related.”
Consequently, the manager may have to start thinking about alternatives.
The solution
When the Black Cats drew with Hull it was Jordan Jones who started on McGeady’s favoured left side.
Next to Jones were Josh Scowen and Lynden Gooch but they put in two different performances.
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Gooch stood out on the right-hand side and was a menace for the Tigers’ backline. Scowen, however, isn’t particularly adept in forward areas.
Thus, in order to extract more from Sunderland’s front line, Johnson should consider unleashing Chris Maguire.
The Scot hasn’t started for the Mackems since the current manager’s very first game in charge, a 1-0 defeat to Wigan Athletic.
That’s a run of outings stretching back to the 5th December, a painstaking 27 straight league matches.
Though, there was a spell within that, specifically towards the end of February and the beginning of March where he showed his quality.
Dubbed “very talented” by Steve Parkin, he hasn’t shown many glimpses of that apart from a three-game run.
During the aforementioned time frame, the 32-year-old scored a superb goal against Crewe while picking up assists against Fleetwood and Swindon.
Maguire made his feelings felt in a recent U23 match. He let rip from range and scored a breathtaking strike from long-range against Burnley.
Having endured a spell in the youth team to get his fitness up to scratch, Johnson needs to bring him back into the first team.