Seven pressing problems Alex Neil must address as Sunderland's new head coach

Alex Neil has been confirmed as Sunderland's new head coach and the Scot arrives on Wearside with an in-tray piled high with pressing problems.

Sunderland sacked his predecessor Lee Johnson because the board had doubts that he could secure automatic promotion but, after two catastrophic defeats while the head coach search was being conducted, the club is now further off the pace than ever,

Neil will be expected to make an immediate impact when he takes charge of his first game at AFC Wimbledon tomorrow and get the club back on course.

Our Sunderland AFC writer James Hunter has put together a list of issues the former Preston North End and Norwich City boss must address as a matter of urgency.

Sunderland have lost their last three games - a run that equals the club's worst ever sequences in the third tier, occurring in April last year, and then again in October-November.

After being humiliated 6-0 at Bolton, beaten at home by basement side Doncaster, and then losing at struggling Cheltenham Town, a fourth successive defeat is unthinkable.

Neil must ensure that Sunderland's abysmal losing streak ends tomorrow at relegation-threatened AFC Wimbledon.

That embarrassing defeat against Doncaster notwithstanding, Sunderland's home form has generally been excellent.

They have collected 34 points from 15 games at the Stadium of Light, a return eclipsed only by leaders Rotherham who have taken one additional point from the same number of games,

Away from home it is another story.

Sunderland's 16 games on the road have yielded just 20 points, with seven clubs - Wigan, Rotherham, MK Dons, Plymouth, Wycombe, and Sheffield Wednesday - boasting better away records, while Ipswich have a similar record to the Black Cats.

Recalculate