LUKE O'Nien has mounted a staunch defence of "brilliant" Joe Gelhardt, who he says deserves more credit for his role at Sunderland since joining from Leeds United.

The Black Cats beat several of their Championship rivals to the January loan capture of Gelhardt and boss Tony Mowbray was excited about the potential of pairing the youngster with star striker Ross Stewart.

But Stewart's season-ending injury and Sunderland's failure to replace him in the final stages of the window left Gelhardt as the only recognised frontman in Mowbray's squad - meaning the 20-year-old has to play a different role to the one initially envisaged by the head coach.

Gelhardt has only managed one goal in his 10 appearances so far, but O'Nien says the young striker deserves praise.

"I think a lot more credit has got to go to Joffy, I think he’s brilliant, especially in the last three, four, five games," said the 28-year-old.

"OK, strikers are judged on goals but he brings way more than that. I think he’s been brilliant.

"I watch him, even when I play I watch him, his body position, the way he’s willing to receive it. You have to remember he’s isolated, the way we are playing we’re not as close to the goal maybe when you are playing off a big guy. We are further away from goal so he has to graft harder, he’s got to get the ball and hold it up.

"Me personally, I’m a big fan of him. I think he’s brilliant. The goals will come for him.

"We have to work harder to dominate the ball further up the pitch so he’s closer to the goal because he’s doing so much work from deep.

"I know a few people give him stick saying he’s not scoring but they can come to me and argue that because I think he’s brilliant."

Gelhardt has Premier League experience but is still a young player, one of many in Sunderland's first team ranks. And O'Nien, one of the more experienced campaigners in the squad, has been blown away by the way the youngsters have dealt with the expectations that come with playing for the Black Cats.

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He says: "We are in the top half of the Championship, we have young players making their introduction on a big stage, like one of the biggest stages in England and in football.

"Not many people have the privilege of playing in front of 35,000 people. To make your entrance on a stage like this, I don’t think people appreciate how hard that is. I did it with more than 100 league games under my belt and struggled.

"These kids are coming in without that experience and sometimes stepping out is a win for them. They are going to learn and develop.

"Take Abdoullah Ba for example, the other day he gave the ball away a couple of times and then got an assist. That is some character to do that. He is only going to grow.

"Edouard Michut is putting in some really good performances and he has come a long way. These are their first starts in the Football League and you have got to remember how difficult that is.

"I look at that and say fair play to them. That’s some character to step out and do what they are doing when the judgement is high and there is a lot of pressure.

"I look at those guys and hope they carry on playing, developing, learning and making mistakes. That’s how you learn."