Sunderland boss Simon Grayson has revealed that the controversial Darron Gibson incident may have had a positive effect on his squad.
Following the Black Cats 5-0 defeat against Celtic during pre-season, Gibson was recorded in a video where took a swipe at several of his team-mates and branded his side “shit”.
The video appeared on social media and Gibson had to undergo disciplinary action as a result. Many were predicting the Black Cats to struggle in the Championship this season.
So far, Sunderland have had a modest start to the new season after drawing against Derby and Sheffield Wednesday and beating Norwich City and it can be viewed as positive.
Grayson has now indicated that the Gibson controversy may have helped the team, saying, “He knows he was in the wrong and shouldn’t have been doing what he was doing. But we dealt with it internally as a club and from that moment on I have picked him and selected him.
“He was sub against Derby, played against Bury and played very well, he came on last night [against Sheffield Wednesday] and he will be part of it while we are moving forward.
“Things like that, you obviously don’t want it to happen but sometimes it can galvanise a group and feel everybody is against us here, let’s make sure we stick together.
“We dealt with it on the Monday morning straight away. He apologised to the group, he dealt with the players that he mentioned and he has been good around the training ground.”
