If you want to find reasons to believe Sunderland can climb out of the Premier League relegation zone, there is one sitting in a booth at the Academy of Light on a bright Tuesday morning.
By his own admission, the start to Kevin Danso’s Sunderland career has not been perfect.
But the fact that he is here, talking and prepared to accept “accountability”, suggests there is substance to the club’s belief that the squad has enough quality to turn around its fortunes.
Danso had been given an opportunity to postpone the interview.
After Sunderland’s defeat at Coventry City left them bottom of the table, he was offered the chance to rearrange.
Danso says he is ready to shoulder his share of the blame for their poor start (Photo: Sunderland)But he wanted to front up and discuss the mood in the camp, with Regis Le Bris having received a resounding vote of confidence from the Sunderland hierarchy during the week.
“Accountability is really important to me, so I’m not shying away from anything,” he tells The i Paper.
“I think it speaks volumes when someone takes accountability and then works hard to make it better.
“In this situation, when you’re going through a tough period, it’s very easy to hide behind other things that are going on and make excuses, but it’s never been me. I want to push from the front, I want to lead and I want to find solutions.”
Danso is an engaging character and a natural leader.
He may only be a loan signing from Tottenham Hotspur, although that will become a permanent, long-term deal if Sunderland retain their Premier League status this season, but Florent Ghisolfi and Le Bris sold him the prospect of becoming a dressing-room leader during their transfer discussions in the summer.
He insists the dressing room remains united despite their recent slump in form (Photo: Getty)That helps explain his frustration at allowing a promising start to life at Sunderland to unravel with what he admits was a “needless” red card at Bournemouth.
Danso accepts he was trying to be “too cute” and “too pretty” in a dangerous area, but insists he has learned from the experience.
He immediately apologised to his teammates in the dressing room after the final whistle. His apology was accepted.
“Sunderland fans haven’t seen the best of me in any way yet,” he says.
“They’ve probably seen a few glimpses of it over a few games, but it’s not quite there yet. It will come, though. It definitely will, I promise that.
“I’m experienced enough, so it should happen a bit quicker. There are some things out of my control and some things in my control, but I’m just focusing on the things I can control, giving the best version of myself and definitely delivering better performances than I did at Bournemouth.”
Sunderland fans should be rooting for him. He is exactly the sort of character you want at your football club.
Named the PFA’s Community Champion of the Year last season, Danso is a passionate supporter of food banks and volunteered at the Tottenham branch. He is also an advocate for north London homelessness charity The Passage.
The Ghanian has called on fans to stay behind the team to help them turn it around (Photo: Getty)Danso wants to get involved in similar causes on Wearside, describing Sunderland as one of the friendliest places he has ever visited.
He is in the process of finding a house and plans to explore more of the coastline once he is settled.
But one thing will remain constant: his belief that footballers should give something back to their communities.
“Wherever I go, wherever the game takes me, I want to give a little bit back,” he says.
“When I was younger – I’m religious – I used to pray to God and say, ‘Please make me a professional footballer and I’ll give back’.
“So I have never forgotten that promise. It’s in my heart. I’m in a fortunate situation, even if it feels like things are going against us on the pitch.
“Sometimes those tough times can ground you a bit, but I’ll never stop doing that. I’ll never shy away from it. I will be looking into the food banks round here. I will do something. I want to give something back.”
His belief in the project sold to him in the summer remains undimmed.
“The club is huge and has an abundance of history,” he says.
[Jermain] Defoe, [Darren] Bent, John Mensah – being of Ghanaian heritage, that’s very important – this club is huge. What they achieved last season was huge and when they approached me, it was a project I wanted to be a big part of.
“Even just the fan culture here is brilliant. They stick behind their team, they are incredibly loyal and the atmosphere in the stadium is amazing. It is the kind of club you dream of playing for, where your fans are behind you.”
There is an expectation his loan will become permanent if they stay in the top flight (Photo: Getty)A major reason Sunderland are continuing to back Le Bris is the apparent unity within the dressing room.
As one insider put it this week: “Sometimes it just feels broken, but this isn’t anything like that”.
Danso revealed the players have held meetings to discuss their own responsibility for turning the situation around.
“We’ve got good characters, but we need to look inwards,” he says.
“We’re 100 per cent behind Regis. We respect him, we like him as a coach and now it’s down to us to repay him.”
He is drawing on lessons learned last season at his parent club.
“It sounds strange, but that was the experience of a lifetime. You learn a lot from it,” he says.
“Between us, we never thought we’d go down, but the reality was it was getting closer and that brought huge pressure. We had to find a way amongst ourselves as players.”
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News: How Sunderland plan to save Regis Le Bris – with January signings ahead Analysis: Four reasons behind Sunderland’s slump – and the club’s stance on Le BrisThe situation on Wearside is similar, and that process begins with an eagerly anticipated home match against Dinamo Zagreb, the first of a significant week for the Black Cats.
Danso believes Sunderland can “absolutely” compete to win the competition he lifted with Tottenham two years ago, but accepts that Premier League survival must remain the priority.
Chelsea then visit on Sunday, with Sunderland in need of a positive result.
“It’s about getting over that hump, all of us finding the extra five per cent to improve results,” he says.
“We can flick that switch.”
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