Sunderland manager Jack Ross lauds Josh Maja after another star display
Posted Sunday, September 23, 2018 by PA
Jack Ross hailed Josh Maja’s finishing abilities after the Sunderland striker added another two goals to his tally in his side’s thumping 4-1 win over Rochdale.
Maja was crowned the EFL Young Player of the Month for August last week and his explosive start to the season shows no sign of stopping.
His latest double made it seven goals in nine League One matches and he showed two different sides to his game as he followed a clinical close-range header with a fierce low shot.
Sunderland are desperate to tie him down to a new deal with his current contract due to expire at the end of the season, and given that he does not turn 20 until late December, Ross is hugely excited about his potential.
Ross said: “There were bits of his early performance that highlighted some things he can still get better at, but I have spoken about his willingness to learn and I sat with him Friday and we looked at bits of his game that he can add to.
“There are parts I can’t help get any better because they are so very good – his ability to finish, for example. His first, the header, was different to any goal he has scored this season. His second, he shifted the ball in a tight area.
“He has a lot of shots low and hard, gives keepers no time to react. To return the number of goals for a young man this early is terrific. If he can keep it going he will end with a really good total.
“People will look at the response to us losing last week, and if you take that in isolation, to win the game 4-1 is very good.
“Again, there are always bits we can do better, but in the main, there were bits we did well. We were a lot more physically resilient than last week in particular, and that was pleasing.”
Rochdale boss Keith Hill bemoaned the individual errors that enabled Sunderland to put the game to bed in an eight-minute spell before the break.
Hill said: “The lads had worked so hard, but then they undid all that good work. It’s a lack of mental consistency, that’s the big difference between the two teams.
“It’s the mental ability of someone like (Lee) Cattermole. It’s obvious from my point of view. You can see why he played in the Premier League – he can control a game mentally, and that comes from his experience.
“We shot ourselves in the foot. It’s really disappointing, but hopefully it’s a learning curve for the players. Sunderland probably only played at 80 per cent, but they still won 4-1.
“That’s annoying from my perspective because I expect us to be better than that. The concern was the way we self-imploded, individually and collectively.”
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