Chris Rigg has adopted a new leadership role at Sunderland.
The midfielder completed a full game during Tuesday’s Carabao Cup win against Hull City.
He provided five key chances while anchoring a heavily rotated starting lineup.
Mentoring Sunderland Debutants And Signings
Rigg actively guided academy debutant Timur Tutierov through his late substitute appearance.
He also assisted new summer arrivals in adapting to the squad culture.
Alongside senior forwards securing new contract extensions, the teenager is becoming a vocal presence.
Defying External Sunderland Relegation Predictions
The squad currently faces an intense domestic and European calendar.
Arsenal travel to Wearside this Saturday for a Premier League clash.
Encounters with AZ Alkmaar and Manchester City immediately follow.
Rigg spoke to The Northern Echo regarding external negativity.
“It’s been mentioned that we were one of the favourites to go down again,” he admitted. “Of course, we hear that in the changing room and it fuels us for the coming weeks.”
The midfielder insisted the dressing room will maintain an underdog mentality.
Rigg discussed tactical rotation with RoundtableSports ahead of this demanding run.
He said: “We want to take it game-by-game but we’ve also got to think that there’s a lot of games coming up and our squad depth is good now – we’ve got a lot of players fighting for their place.”
Régis Le Bris prepares his unified squad to host Arsenal this weekend.
