HAVING worked under Lee Johnson for more than three years at Bristol City, Bailey Wright is expecting a radical transformation of Sunderland’s playing style under the club’s new head coach – and feels there was some early evidence of what lies in store in Tuesday’s 2-1 win at Oldham Athletic.

Johnson was appointed as Phil Parkinson’s successor on Saturday, and while his first game in charge might not have gone to plan, with Sunderland suffering a home defeat to Wigan, his second witnessed a marked improvement as the Black Cats won at Boundary Park to reach the third round of the Papa John’s Trophy.

Despite still being in his first week on Wearside, Johnson has already scrapped Parkinson’s five-man defensive formation in order to introduce a more attack-minded 4-3-3 systems and instructed his attacking players to make more incursions into the opposition’s 18-yard box. The effects were apparent on Tuesday, and Wright is excited at the prospect of what else lies in store.

“I had some great times with him (Johnson) at Bristol City and left there on good terms, which is always nice as a player,” said the centre-half. “I always had a good relationship with him and when I left we kept in touch, even after he left Bristol City.

“He’s already brought lots of ideas and you can see some real patterns in how we played (at Oldham) and the style of play we want to implement. The positives are that we’re taking it in quickly and we’re only going to get stronger.”

From their experiences together at Ashton Gate, Wright knows how Johnson likes to operate, and it is already clear that Sunderland’s new head coach is a stickler for detail, who puts a lot of stock in data analysis and precise tactical direction.

Johnson’s training sessions are markedly different to those overseen by Parkinson, or indeed his predecessor Jack Ross, but Wright is confident it will not take too long for his team-mates to get used to the new approach.

“He’s extremely detailed and thoroughly professional in his approach,” said Wright. “He enjoys (his coaching work) and no matter the result, he’s always wanting to improve, improve, improve in every aspect. Every detail will be looked at as he puts his stamp and style on things.”

From his early discussions with the media, it is clear that Johnson wants his players to be more positive and purposeful, especially when they get into the opposition’s final third. He has demanded that crosses be delivered with more pace, and is urging his attacking midfielders to make more breaks into the box. With that in mind, Jack Diamond’s display on Tuesday could provide an early template for his preferred style.

“You can already see the patterns and basic habits,” said Wright. “Jack, for example, I thought was brilliant. You could really see him bringing out his game, he had that confidence and little bit of arrogance, which is great to see. But that’s just a little taster of where we want to get to.”