WHEN Dan Neil left the pitch at Watford last weekend, the Sunderland skipper readily admits he was feeling devastated. An ill-advised challenge on Kwadwo Baah had resulted in the award of a late penalty, which in turn had condemned the Black Cats to a 2-1 defeat. Regis Le Bris was quick to insist Neil wasn’t the only person to blame for the incident that led to the spot-kick, but having been the one that conceded the game-changing foul, Neil felt guilty.

Fast forward three days, and the midfielder was experiencing rather different emotions as he walked off the Stadium of Light after the 2-0 win over Derby that lifted Sunderland back to the top of the table. Neil’s assured midfield display had been a major factor in his side’s win, and if not exactly providing redemption, the evening helped conclusively draw a line under the weekend’s mishap.

Le Bris was always confident his captain would bounce back, hence his willingness to keep him in the starting line-up, and ahead of this evening’s meeting with Leeds United, the Sunderland head coach has cited Neil’s conflicting experiences over the course of the last week as evidence of the mental fortitude that will be needed in the rest of the campaign. Sunderland’s players will make mistakes as the promotion battle unfolds; it is how they respond to them that will determine how they fare.

“It's a good example of the learning process,” said Le Bris. “In the meeting room, we can talk about a huge mistake because it was, but it is not just the one who makes the final action. When you watch it back, there is a lot in the collective behaviour that can be improved.

“But yes, at the end, you have to make a decision and that this was not the right one. But we are able to talk about it comfortably, we can learn from it and then the game after, Dan is really good. This is a good example for the captain to set for his team, that he can face the criticism and learn from that experience and in the next game deliver.”

Le Bris was especially impressed with Neil’s willingness to proactively take the ball in Tuesday’s game with Derby rather than look to hide away or adopt a safety-first approach.

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With Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg tending to push on, Neil sets the tone for Sunderland’s midfield play, and against the Rams, both sides of his game were functioning effectively. On the ball, Neil was neat, tidy and creative. Off it, he was disciplined enough to ensure Derby were unable to mount a second-half recovery after falling two goals behind.

There might have been a desire from the stands to push on for more goals, but Le Bris was pleased with the way his players took responsibility for managing the game, with Neil performing a key leadership role.

“He (Neil) is one of the best players we have on the ball and you could see on Tuesday how well the situation was managed,” said the Black Cats boss. “On the bench, we feel that maybe we can do some things better but, on the pitch, they are very comfortable and explained how they decided to manage the game. We can trust them.”

Neil does not turn 23 until December, yet remarkably, he is, by some distance, the elder statesman of the Sunderland midfield. Jobe Bellingham celebrated his 19th birthday last month, while Chris Rigg will not be 18 until next June.

The trio form one of the youngest, and most exciting, midfield units anywhere in the top two tiers of Europe’s major leagues, and while holding on to them could prove a challenge as the leading clubs from right across the continent begin to circle, Le Bris is determined to make the most of them while he has them at his disposal.

“The midfield is very young, but I don't think age means mature,” he said. “These players are young, but they are mature in how they understand the game and manage situations. I'm very happy with them.”