David Moyes on how Victor Anichebe's injury prompted Sunderland's change of formation
Sunderland have switched to a back five to address problems at both ends of the pitch - but David Moyes is still searching for long-term solutions
Sunderland must learn to live without a targetman following Victor Anichebe 's injury, says David Moyes.
Anichebe's introduction into the starting XI heralded the Black Cats' best spell of the season, as they won four games out of seven between the beginning of November and Christmas.
But the big frontman picked up a hamstring problem at the turn of the year which kept him out for three weeks, and when he made his comeback at West Brom last month he suffered a much more serious knee ligament injury which will sideline him until April.
With Sunderland's attempts to sign a replacement in January ending in failure, Moyes has had to change the shape of the team by switching from the 4-3-3 system that proved effective with Anichebe, to a 5-3-2 formation designed to offer more stability in defence while still providing a strikepartner for Jermain Defoe.
"I think when we lost Victor, that was the key to it," said Moyes of the tactical switch.
Victor Anichebe (Image: PA)
"We needed to keep looking for another way to get up the pitch, to have two forwards playing and not to be too exposed defensively.
"Because we had been making mistakes and conceding goals I had to make sure we could shore it up a little bit as well.
"But I do think it will change. It will change again because of what the opposition can do to you, maybe you're chasing a game and you need to do it in a different way, you need to look at different things."
The formation change has worked to a limited extent with Sunderland conceding eight goals in the five games - although they came badly unstuck in their last outing against Southampton when they conceded four times - since the switch as opposed to 12 goals in the preceding five games.
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However it has not yet paid off in the attacking third, with the Black Cats scoring four times - all of those goals coming in the 4-0 win at Crystal Palace - in the last five games, while they had averaged a goal per game in the five matches prior to the change.
Sunderland are the third-lowest scorers in the Premier League having found the net 24 times so far, with the evergreen Defoe accounting for 14 of those. Only relegation rivals Middlesbrough (19) and Hull City (22) have scored fewer goals.
And Moyes expects a greater contribution from Adnan Januzaj and Fabio Borini to support Defoe, as well as from midfielders such as Didier Ndong and Seb Larsson.
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He said: "We may have to play a little bit on the counter-attack and play quite fast football. We spoke to the players about it and I think they understand.
"We're trying to get more balls in the box, more people in the box. It's the only way we're going to score goals.
"As well as, says, Adnan or Fabio and Jermain, we're trying to get some of the midfield players further up.
"Ndong got himself a goal [against Crystal Palace], albeit from outside the box.
"We're having to really try and find a way."
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