Saturday Spotlight: Fit-again Fletcher determined to put his frustrations behind him

ASKED to assess his fortunes over the last two or three seasons, Steven Fletcher leans back in his armchair at Sunderland’s Academy of Light training ground and takes a deep sigh. “It’s been frustrating,” he eventually concludes. As a three-word summation of the entire club’s performance over the course of his time on Wearside, it could hardly be bettered.

Frustration and Sunderland have been uneasy bedfellows for quite a while now, and Fletcher’s personal experiences since making a much-trumpeted £12m move from Wolves in 2012 have tended to neatly mirror the wider picture at the Stadium of Light.

There have been flashes of excitement, and the occasional suggestion that something much better is on the way. On the whole though, the tale has been one of thwarted ambition and frustrating setbacks.

For every step forward, there has been another one back. So as the 28-year-old looks ahead to the final year of his current deal on Wearside, he does not have any great overarching ambitions in terms of earning a new contract or propelling the Black Cats into the top half of the table. Instead, his primary desire is to finally live up to the billing that accompanied him to the North-East when he became the second most expensive signing in Sunderland’s history under Martin O’Neill.

“I thought the start I had at Sunderland was brilliant,” said Fletcher, who scored six goals in his first five appearances after moving from Molineux. “I was scoring and on fire, but then I got an injury with Scotland and that really didn’t help.

“From then on, it’s been a frustrating spell. It’s not really gone my way right up until the start of this pre-season, but for the first time in a long time, I’ve been fit right the way through and felt really good. I don’t think I’ve missed a day this summer, which is a massive thing for me. Hopefully, I’ll be able to reap the rewards.”

Given their struggles in front of goal over the last few seasons, Sunderland could certainly do with a fully-fit Fletcher firing on all cylinders.

Jermain Defoe’s arrival in January took much of the limelight away from the Scotland international, but while Defoe turns 33 in October and is coming towards the end of his career, Fletcher should be entering his prime.

His career statistics remain impressive – 93 league goals from just over 250 starts - but his best days were with Burnley and Wolves rather than in the red-and-white of Sunderland.

There are mitigating factors – injuries have been a problem in each of the last three seasons, while Gus Poyet in particular never really seemed to view Fletcher as much of an asset – but Sunderland supporters have also questioned whether the Scotsman is sufficiently motivated to give his all for the cause.

Their suspicions stem, in part, from the image of Fletcher as something of a playboy, a view that became entrenched when pictures emerged on social media showing him standing on his driveway with a £260,000 Lamborghini supercar at a time when he was unavailable because of injury.

Fletcher and his agent maintain the pictures were not of their making, but it was unfortunate that they emerged at a time when the Scotsman was unable to justify his place in the squad by scoring goals. As ever in football, if he was able to put that right, perceptions would quickly change.

Last weekend’s 4-2 defeat at Leicester City was a dreadful way to the start to the season, but from a personal point of view, at least Fletcher was able to get up and running with the second-half header that reduced Sunderland’s arrears. His performance from the substitutes’ bench suggested his sharpness is returning, something that is crucial to any centre-forward’s game.

“It’s really hard to be in and out of things as a striker, because so much of your game is about sharpness and rhythm,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter how many training sessions you do, you need game time to make sure that side of your game is sharp.

“Last season, I got a fair few games, but certainly the season before I was in and out, and in and out, and that makes things really hard. That was down to the injuries, but it doesn’t really help when you’re trying to keep a consistent high level.

“You never lose confidence in what you can do though. We do drills every day in training, and whenever the ball has dropped to me, I’ve been in there finishing. You keep ticking over, and you know what you’re capable of doing, but if you’re not playing in matches, you’re never really quite the same. The edge to your game can be blunted, but I know that if I get chances, I can take them.”

That said, however, Fletcher is keen to dispel the notion that he is nothing more than a goalscorer. Yes, his game has always been about getting into the penalty area and getting onto the end of crosses or through balls, but with very few teams playing with two players up front, strikers are increasingly being asked to be much more versatile than they might have been in the past.

“I think what is expected of a striker is changing,” said Fletcher, who has reverted to his original squad number of 26 this season. “I like to think I’m fairly adaptable and I’ve always tried to pride myself on my link-up play, but ultimately my game has been about scoring goals.

“I guess the manager would probably want me to score more goals than I have, but as a striker you also have to be able to adapt now and times have moved on.

“When I first started, the game was different, especially as a centre-forward. Now, as a striker, you definitely have to be able to do a lot of different things, not just stand in the six-yard box and tap it in. That said though, I wouldn’t be complaining if I could do that a bit this season!”