Manager Simon Grayson was again an unhappy man at the full time whistle in this weekend’s defeat to Barnsley.
Heading to Oakwell on Saturday, Sunderland suffered a three nil defeat and Grayson knew the players simply weren’t good enough so he wasn’t even going to try and find excuses for a performance like that.
Speaking to the Official Site as he met with the media following the game, a disappointed gaffer knew that with early chances coming our way as we fell to a second successive defeat, the players had let their heads drop.
‘The scoreline reflects that we weren`t good enough. I thought for 25 minutes we played very well and created some good chances, but when you`re on top you have to take those chances as we`ve spoken about a few times now.’
He went on to say.
‘The first one went in and one or two heads went down which reflected in the performance from then. You think that things have been moving along in a positive direction since the start of the season, but obviously this is a reminder to everybody about what`s required.’
Grayson did have praise for the opposition and the fans on the day but the result certainly wasn’t what anyone had wanted.
‘Barnsley worked hard today, put their bodies on the line and they made it difficult for us, and that`s what you have to do in the Championship. They (fans) showed their commitment to the players for 25 minutes but after that it wasn`t acceptable and rightfully so the supporters vented their frustration. They want to see the team perform and they didn`t see that in the hour after the first goal went in.’
Lee Cattermole was also starkly honest as he met with the press following the game.
‘It was very frustrating to concede against the run of play and we weren`t strong enough – physically or mentally – to cope with what Barnsley threw at us. For 20-30 minutes we were the better side and we should have punished them, but we didn`t have the quality to take the lead.’
Cattermole ended by saying the players had to use it as a wake up call and get back to showing improvement.
‘We lacked quality on the ball and we lacked discipline without it. I think there was a bit of weakness there after the first goal and people were perhaps feeling a little bit sorry for themselves, and suddenly the game was over despite being the better side. We had to keep doing what we`d been doing and play our way back into the game, but we couldn`t do that today. It is a massive wake up call for us.’
