Mike Dodds names the Sunderland player fans can expect more from next season with key issues resolved

Mike Dodds believes Sunderland will see a truer reflection of Nazariy Rusyn’s abilities next season after the forward’s stop-start debut campaign on Wearside.

Rusyn signed from Zorya Luhansk on deadline day last summer but struggled to break into the side on a regular basis. His work ethic on the pitch made him a popular player with supporters and there were notable high points, including his goals against Preston North End and Middlesbrough.

However, like many of the club’s acquisitions over the last two transfer windows he did not cement a place in the starting XI and missed the final two months of the season with a significant calf problem. Rusyn is now fully fit and returned to training in the last week of the campaign, meaning he should be ready to hit the ground running when pre-season begins in late June.

Dodds says there are a number of very understandable reasons why Rusyn had a difficult first campaign on Wearside but believes many of those factors have been resolved, meaning he is expecting to see a far more settled and effective player next season.

“Naz started training last week so he's fine, if the season had run for another week then I think he would have featured,” Dodds said.

“I think his season, and it’s a word I’ve used to describe ours on the whole, has been a little bit clunky in that he's come into the club and doesn't speak the language, which I always think is difficult for any player. There was an issue with the visa for his family and so he initially was here by himself, that wasn't the initial plan and so I think that was probably a bit of a hammer blow for him at the time. Then you factor in all the other things, a completely different style of play, a different part of the world. It's a different way of life. When you actually reflect, Naz is one who you would probably want more from but to have expected more from him would have been really harsh. I do think from the start of next season, pre-season is going to be really important for him because I think those factors have been taken away really. His family are here with him, his language has got a lot better, he's a lot more settled in the region and has got a place [home]. So there'll be a little more pressure on him but I think we'll see a better reflection of him as a player.”

Rusyn is now one year into a four-year contract. One of the key challenges for the new head coach and the existing coaching staff will be settling his best position, with the 25-year-old sometimes deployed as a wide player rather than as an orthodox striker over the course of last season.