Jack Clarke inspires Sunderland to a 3-1 win against Blackburn Rovers
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00:00 I think one of the things that Mowbray has talked about this season is that working on
00:05 Clark's positioning in terms of being more aggressive and getting in the box. He is one
00:11 of those players who likes to hug the touchline, quite often likes to drop deeper and drive
00:16 in field, which of course is still very effective, but I think something that Mowbray has worked
00:20 on is getting him to the back post, getting him into more attacking positions. His first
00:26 goal against Southampton, that little back post head is obviously a great example of
00:29 that. The fact that he is stepping up and taking these penalties shows where his confidence
00:34 is at. Absolutely crucial player. I think ultimately this is why the Burnley deal never
00:40 really made sense for either party in the summer. We know that if Burnley had put a
00:45 huge bid on the table that met Sunderland's valuation, Sunderland may well have accepted
00:49 it and Clark may well have gone for talks and he may well have decided to go to Burnley.
00:53 I think ultimately the fee was never at a level that Sunderland felt reflected where
01:00 Clark was and where he could get to. I also think Clark had the understanding that Clark
01:04 has been to a Premier League club where he wasn't really in the team and it really slowed
01:08 his development. I think he understands that being pretty much the main man and he's at
01:13 the top of the championship, if he does that for another year, his options are going to
01:17 be incredibly strong. Whether that's potentially getting a new, improved deal at Sunderland,
01:22 whether it's potentially getting more Premier League interest, but from established teams
01:25 who want to give him a start and role, that could potentially be on the table for him
01:28 if he continues this form. I think what we're seeing at the moment is a reason why that
01:33 deal was just never quite right, either for the club or for the player. I think everyone
01:40 could see that as much as he had a brilliant year last year, there was still a little bit
01:43 more to come from him. I actually think we're seeing that this year. That second half, there
01:50 aren't many players better to watch than Clark, never mind more effective. So, so difficult
01:56 to stop. Such a huge outlier for his team. I think everyone can reflect on that summer
02:03 decision, that summer interest from Burnley and feel like the right decision was made.
02:06 I honestly don't think Clark's really losing out at the moment because he's playing his
02:10 way into a position where there could be bigger clubs than Burnley who would potentially interest
02:14 him in the future. Or, he could be, let's not rule it out, he could be leading Sunderland