Dodds praises "thoroughly professional" Sunderland
- Published
Sunderland Head Coach Mike Dodds has praised his Sunderland side for their "thoroughly professional" performance in their first win in nearly seven weeks.
Speaking to BBC Radio Newcastle's Sunderland commentator Nick Barnes, Dodds said: "The whole group deserve a lot of credit. I think it was a thoroughly professional performance.
"I think we could've scored more goals, we got in some really good areas."
Sunderland's 2-0 win over Cardiff City was their first win away from home since Boxing Day and their first back-to-back clean sheets since October.
"The facts are the facts. We had 18 shots on goal against a team which I think are really well coached and organised.
"I think the [first] goal was a big goal psychologically because what you saw after the goal is that they settled down."
Today's win was Sunderland's first match since a goalless draw to QPR two weeks ago.
"The QPR game was a poor performance but I thought there was a level of anxiety and nervousness in the performance.
"So I think one result is going to take us in a completely different direction. I hope that's the case.
"But I also thought that if we scored first it would settle the group down - and it really did. I thought we were excellent with the ball."
