Sunderland returned to Wearside without any points for their efforts as they came away from Rotherham with a 2-1 defeat in the Championship on Tuesday night.

Tony Mowbray's side had been on a five-game unbeaten run in the second tier but goals from Ollie Rathbone and Shane Ferguson ensured that they tasted defeat.

Joe Gelhardt struck his first goal for the club, since joining on loan from Leeds in January, with a superb header in the second half but it was not enough to mount a comeback for the Black Cats.

There were a number of subpar performances on display but one player who may now be fearing for his place in the starting XI is central midfielder Dan Neil.

How has Daniel Neil performed for Sunderland recently?

In his last six appearances for the club, the dynamo has only recorded a Sofascore rating of 6.9 or higher once - against Queens Park Rangers - and he was given a score of 6.6 for his performance against the Millers.

The Englishman had recorded a Sofascore rating of 7.0 or higher in eight of his 11 outings in all competitions prior to his last six games, which shows that his form has taken a significant dip in recent weeks.

Against Rotherham, Neil lost seven of his 13 individual duels - including 100% of his aerial battles -  and was dribbled past twice in the middle of the park, whilst failing to complete a dribble and managing one long pass from six attempts - as per Sofascore.

The dud, who had 70 touches of the ball, was also unable to create a single chance for his teammates during the game and struggled in and out of possession throughout the match, which included being "caught" - per journalist Phil Smith - on the ball for Rotherham's second goal.

Neil has been able to produce moments of quality throughout the campaign in the Championship - scoring twice and assisting four goals in 32 appearances - but his recent dip in form could see him axed from the side.

Head coach Mowbray will be looking at his bench and seeing the likes of Pierre Ekwah and Abdoullah Ba, who are both young and hungry players who could relish an opportunity to play, and wondering whether or not it is worth giving them a shot.

The current first-choice in midfield, alongside Edouard Michut, has left a lot to be desired with his recent showings - the latest being the disappointing display on Tuesday - and dropping him to the bench for a few matches could motivate him to rediscover the form he showed earlier this season.

Therefore, the manager must ruthlessly ditch Neil from the starting XI for the club's clash with Coventry this weekend and hand a chance to another player to showcase their quality in that position.