Sunderland midfielder Jobe Bellingham sat down with Sky Sports EFL reporter Jonathan Oakes to take a look back at his season so far…
Do you feel like you’ve really stepped it up this season?
“Yes, definitely. I think, with the manager coming in, he’s helped us all express ourselves and the team’s done really well.”
Friday 28th February 7:30pm
Kick off 8:00pm
What were your first impressions of Regis Le Bris?
“I definitely realised quite early on that he was really calculated in his work and he likes to analyse and he gives you a lot of feedback, which is really good as a player because you want to know where you stand.
“You want to know, for me anyway, how you can improve and get better all the time. He’s a really calming figure to have on the touchline as well. Probably a contrast to the fans in the stadium, but he’s really calm, which gives us a lot of freedom as young players to express ourselves.”
First goal of the season [against Derby], talk us through this one…
“I just saw the ball pop up out to me and I thought about my first touch, and that was it. I thought about getting the ball out of my feet and shooting.”
It looks like it might take a deflection on that angle, but it doesn’t, does it?
“No chance, no!”
Are you always looking to try and find the opportunity to have a shot?
“To be honest, I’m not really. My mum always tells me to shoot more.”
The Illan Meslier mistake when you played Leeds. What are your memories of that?
“I wasn’t thinking much, to be honest. I was just running over to the fans in the corner. It was chaos, really. No one that I spoke to had any idea what had happened until we’d seen the replay.”
Another goal here against Oxford, header this time. Tell us about this one…
“Well, heading is something I’ve tried to improve, being so tall. I hope I’ve stopped [growing] now!”
First red card vs QPR. How do you look back on this?
“Well, it’s definitely a red card. I checked if he was all right and took my medicine. I apologised to the lads and I got off the pitch.”
The Swansea comeback on your return after suspension?
“We weren’t good in the first half of this game and then in the second half we were really locked in and focused. Dan scored a great goal there.”
So you set up the second, the equaliser, and then you go and score the third.
“It was the least I could do, to be honest.”
Do you think of the four teams at the top you’ve been underestimated the most?
“A lot of people have a lot to say about our age and lack of experience, you might say, but I don’t see it that way. I think, for a young squad, we’ve got a lot of experience and we’ve got a lot of character and fearlessness as well.”
The late win against Boro, was it a statement from you?
“Yeah, for sure. Middlesbrough are a really, really good team. They play some really good football and they try and play through the middle of you, which they did for that first goal. To be honest, it probably wasn’t one of our best performances, but we were decisive. In games like this, it doesn’t always have to be pretty, you’ve just got to find a way to win.”
What about this promotion race?
“The way I see it, there’s three of the top teams competing for promotion to one of the best leagues in the world. It’s really healthy, actually, for the squad, because it keeps us something to chase, keeps our standards high in the training ground and then in games as well.
“It’s been great for all of us and hopefully we want to end the season as high as possible, give our all until the end and we’ll see where that takes us.”
