Sunderland's interim head coach explains his Jobe Bellingham decision at Bristol City

Mike Dodds said it would have been too much of a risk to start Jobe Bellingham for his third game in a week after dropping him to the Sunderland bench at Bristol City.

Bellingham came off the bench just after the hour mark and almost immediately drew an excellent save from Max O'Leary. He has been a key player during Dodds' week as interim head coach, playing up front against West Brom and then dropping into midfield before landing the winner against Leeds United just days later.

That was the first time Bellingham had played 90 minutes in back-to-back games with such a short timeframe, and so Dodds believes it was sensible to move him into a cameo role.

"Again you saw him get in good areas when he came on, that was a good header and an unbelievable save," Dodds said,

"I just think, he's 18-year-old and I'm pretty sure that he has never played 90 minutes back-to-back before the last two games.

"So the plan was always to get him on for half an hour or so, depending on how the game was going. I think for such a young boy, it wouldn't have just been three games in a row but potentially three 90 minutes in a row, I just felt that was a huge ask."

Dodds has likely taken charge of his last game as interim head coach with Michael Beale expected to be announced early next week. Dodds will have a key role in the new coaching structure.