Sunderland midfielder Luke O’Nien says there is a ‘great feel’ to the club at the moment as they head to Fleetwood top of the table.
The 26-year-old was speaking ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Highbury, with Fleetwood currently sit 17th after a bad start to the season, though won 4-2 last week away to Rotherham.
O’Nien, who signed a new three-year contract this summer, said the players are just trying to keep the momentum going and keep building a solid platform for the season.
He said: “We just have to keep building off the platform that we’ve given ourselves. From front to back I feel we’ve performed really well, so we just have to keep that momentum going."
Having won five of their six matches so far, Sunderland are in a good position, but O’Nien said they are taking nothing for granted.
“They’re a good team, dangerous going forward, and we’ve done our homework on them,” he said. “We have to respect them, but equally we have a gameplan to implement.”
The midfielder also spoke about the overall atmosphere at Sunderland at the moment under the stewardship of manager Lee Johnson.
O’Nien told the club's website: “Since the start of the season, I think the atmosphere in the dressing room has been very good and all around the place from upstairs to downstairs.
“It’s a really enjoyable place here to be playing football. The young guys have done really well too, and there’s a great feel around the place which we need to work hard to continue.”
O’Nien can play in midfield or defence, but he switched back to midfield this season so far after playing in central defence last season.
He said: “It’s been great, I’m really enjoying it. Playing alongside Dan Neil, learning off Corry Evans and having the forward and defensive players either side of us has made it work really well.
“I have a lot of help around me and it’s a thoroughly enjoyable position to be playing in. The gaffer is helping me develop, so it’s important to just keep building and looking to improve.”
