Mike Dodds: 'A balance' to Sunderland team selection for the final three fixtures

Mike Dodds explains his approach to team selection ahead of Sunderland's final three games this season

Sunderland interim head coach Mike Dodds admits he will have one eye on the club's future when selecting his starting lineups in the final three matches of the season.

The Black Cats have very little left to play for this season with promotion or relegation no longer a mathematical possibility.

They face Millwall, Watford and Sheffield Wednesday over the next three weeks and Dodds has conceded there will be a consideration for next season in his team selection.

"This is a massive football club and what I'm not going to do is use these games to experiment," he said ahead of Saturday's encounter with Millwall. "But at the same time, we have to build game on game, week on week, to get us back to where we want to be.

“They're not going to be throwaway games but there is one eye on the next 12 to 18 months. It is a balance. As the head coach, I want to win every game so that's the first and foremost priority. From there it's whether we need to change the shape or give Player X an opportunity.

"Any decision is not a five-minute decision, it's hours and hours of watching the opposition, watching our games and things we've done well and haven't done well. Those decisions are made over a long period of time.”

For Dodds, the main target for the last three games is to win maximum points but admits there are other secondary concerns for parts of his squad.

"We want to win all three games but there have been some discussions around targets internally," he explained. "Whether that be individual, units or the collective group.

"We have set some targets for the group but ultimately it is trying to win every game of football and I don't think that should ever change."Two of the final three games are at the Stadium of Light and Dodds admits the chance to give fans a big send-off is a major motivating factor for his squad after a season which he concedes has been disappointing.

"Definitely," he said. "Like always whether it is home or away we want to try and win every game of football.

"In particular at home, we have a huge following that are going to come and watch the last two games and we want to make sure they go away for the summer with some positivity."

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