IT is a mantra trotted out at football clubs up and down the land. ‘Take what you do on the training ground onto the pitch, and you’ll not go far wrong’. Thankfully, it doesn’t apply to George Dobson.

“We did a few drills in training during the week, and my finishing was horrible,” admitted the Sunderland midfielder, who claimed his first Black Cats goal in impressive style on Wednesday night as he slotted home from the edge of the area to establish a 3-1 lead over Burnley. “I hadn’t stopped missing the target, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

“The feeling when it went in was just ridiculous. I didn’t know what to do. Luke (O’Nien) knocked me into the advertising board head first, but it was just a fantastic feeling and I loved every minute of it.

“The feeling of scoring a goal in front of the fans and celebrating was up there with one of the best moments I’ve had so far, and hopefully I can have many more.

“It was unbelievable, the amount of fans that travelled, they could have stayed at home, so to win the game in front of them and beat a Premier League team was a fantastic feeling and I just want more and more of that.”

Having joined Sunderland from Walsall in the summer, Dobson, a former trainee at West Ham United, found himself unceremoniously dumped from the starting line-up after the opening two games of the campaign.

That was a harsh reaction to his performances against Oxford and Ipswich – while he didn’t exactly assert himself at the heart of midfield, no one played particularly impressively in either game – but having been given an opportunity to highlight his credentials on Wednesday, the 21-year-old seized it with both hands.

Despite lining up against Danny Drinkwater, an England international, and Jeff Hendrick, an Irish international boasting 49 senior caps, Dobson was the best central midfielder on the pitch at Turf Moor, with Sunderland’s victory over Premier League opposition having boosted the confidence of the whole of the squad.

“Seven games this season and we’re still unbeaten – that shows the momentum building not just with the team, but the squad,” said Dobson. “There were a lot of changes on Wednesday, and I think that just shows the strength in depth we have as a squad, especially for a League One team.

“Before the game, people were saying it was a free hit, but we didn’t go to Burnley thinking like that. We saw it as a good opportunity to play on a good pitch against very good players and to win. We did that, which was brilliant.

“We’ve come down from 1-0 down to a Premier League team, and we turned it around in quite emphatic fashion. I think that shows where the confidence is at with all the boys, and now we’re just looking forward to the next one.”

That next one comes this afternoon, with Sunderland travelling to London Road to take on a Peterborough United side that have found their form after a shaky start to the season.

Darren Ferguson’s side lost their opening three games in all competitions, but have scored six unanswered goals in their last two away outings to rack up convincing victories over Southend United and MK Dons.

“It’s a huge one at Peterborough, who’ve got some very good players and a very good team,” said Dobson. “It will be a tough game, but it’s one we’re ready for and hopefully we’ll be going into the international break in a good position with our unbeaten start still intact.

“This is a huge football club with an unbelievable fanbase, one that shouldn’t be in this league, so we’re pulling together as a squad and team to go in the right direction, and hopefully we’ll continue the confidence we all have.”