LUKE O'Nien has hailed Mike Dodds as the "best coach he's ever worked under" and says the foundations he put in place during last season's struggle at Sunderland paved the way for the Black Cats' current success.

Dodds left Sunderland last week to take charge of League One Wycombe Wanderers after an eventful three-and-a-half year spell at the Stadium of Light, which included three separate stints as caretaker boss.

During his first spell in temporary charge last season after the exit of Tony Mowbray, Dodds oversaw hugely impressive wins against West Brom and Leeds, but his second stint didn't go to plan, as Sunderland's form nosedived after Michael Beale's unsuccessful tenure.

But O'Nien looked beyond those results at the back end of last season, and has opened up on just how influential Dodds was behind the scenes at the Academy of Light.

"However you want to put it, Mike Dodds from the day he joined to the day he left was simply first class," said O'Nien.

"Any success this club has going forward, he was extremely pivotal in all of that. I think the iceberg effect is quite a nice way to sometimes put it with Mike Dodds. Looking from the outside, people can only see the top of the iceberg.

"But I think it's important to see the whole of the iceberg and that foundation that Mike Dodds put in for this group and for this club.

"Honestly, it's incredible. It's massive. He had a few defeats in there, but the base of the iceberg, the relationships he built, the understanding, the way he looked after us, the way he put this club in this position that we are now.

"We're now fighting for top two. We go to look into every single game to win it. A massive part of that goes to Mike Dodds."

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O'Nien continued:  "What he's done for this club extends for many, many years. He's put a base and a foundation where we will go and be successful.

"He took charge and we weren't as successful as we'd like to be. But if you see where we are now, we're on the rise and he's pivotal in that rise. People might not see that because they only see the tip of the iceberg.

"But he's first class. He's the best coach I've ever worked under and I wish him all the best."

Regis Le Bris is still considering whether or not to replace Dodds but in the short-term is happy with the make-up of his coaching team.

Asked what sort of impact Dodds' exit could have on Sunderland, O'Nien said:   It's actually a really good question.

"My dad kind of asked me about that. What's it like losing Mike Dodds? And one of the best things Doddsy did is he made a lot of us coaches.

"Tactically, he gave me and a lot of the players a game understanding that I've never developed before. For example, you look at Dan Neil. Dan Neil's captaincy is incredible.

"A lot of people won't see the tactical side of it, but Dan Neil can lead by whispering to us. He'll see a game shift, and he'll be able to react. That's a product of spending time with Mike Dodds.

"Now, as a team, we can coach ourselves, and not completely, but we can coach and change things in-game. He was a big part of making us all into coaches, and now we can go into the games and problem-solve a lot better."

Having left Wycombe to join Sunderland seven years ago, O'Nien now has two reasons to keep an eye out for his former club.

He said:  "I've kept an eye on Wycombe since the day I left. They were brilliant for me. They're the first team I always check for after we finish our games, and even more so now, I'll be following them."