Sunderland manager Simon Grayson has encouraged fans of the club to get behind the team as while they do have faults, hard work is not one of them.
The Black Cats currently lie in 23rd position on the Championship standings with 8 points from 12 games and based on the way that things are going, they could be set to face back to back relegations.
The club also played poorly during their 1-1 draw against Queens Park Rangers on Saturday. Goalkeeper Jason Steele in particular was woeful in his distribution while Adam Matthews was guilty of poor ball control.
The club still has to do a lot of work if they wish to rebuild. Grayson said: “It’s tough. I’ve played in games and teams where I’ve had criticism myself, and it does affect players. All I can say is, ‘Please stay with the team,’ because we’re all in this together.
“Adam Matthews was unfortunate. One took a bobble that he played out of play, and then John (O’Shea) played one behind him when he wasn’t even looking. Full credit to him, he stuck in there and contributed, and started us off for the goal. He was hobbling around for 20 minutes (with a knee injury), but there are some good kids in that dressing room, good lads who want to do well for the club.
“The players are here for footballing reasons, and not for other reasons that might have been the case in the past. They’re here because they want to give everything for this football club. I don’t think there’s been a spell in any game where the players have not tried to get something out of the game.”
