Chris Mepham had his shirt pulled in the box in the first half, and if the Championship had VAR would have certainly won his side a penalty. However, the officials on the day missed the foul and Sunderland were left disappointed with a defeat on the road. Here's what the Welshman had to say after the game.
PERFORMANCE V RESULT
“Obviously a really frustrating result. I think we’d have felt hard done by going in at full time drawing 0-0. I felt like we created much better chances in the game but it’s kind of been the story of our season a little bit. We probably haven’t got the rewards for how well we’ve played, and it’s a big learning curve. There’s been a couple of games now where we’ve conceded quite late and it’s something we really need to fix. We’ve got a big game coming up now against Sheff U so that’s where our focus needs to be. Hopefully we can put another positive performance in and get a result there.”
PERSPECTIVE
“I think you’ve always got to put things into perspective. Yeah, you’d expect in our current form to come away and get a result here but you see it time and time again in this league that no team gives you three easy points. You have to work hard for them, stay switched on over 90 minutes and like I said, today we’ve probably fallen short. As always, there were lots of positives in the game but at the end of the season you wanna be in a position where you don’t regret certain games. I feel like at the minute we’re carrying a little bit of regret. We’ve still got plenty of time to put it right and we’ve got a squad more than good enough to put it right.”
LOAN SPELL SO FAR
“I’m loving it. It’s been a breath of fresh air coming up to Sunderland and I feel like I’ve made a good connection with the fans. I feel the love and support from everyone, the staff and the players. I’m hoping to be part of something really special this year. The squad is more than capable and I want to play my part. I’ll make sure I do everything in my power to help this club get back to where it belongs.”
ONTO NEW YEAR'S DAY
“Of course, every game in this league is tough but Sheff U are right up there. Over the course of 24 games they are where they are for a reason. But again, we went away there and I felt that we were the better team, and it’s a tough place to go. Hopefully with the home support at the Stadium of Light we can give a good account of ourselves and get the three points. I’m confident we can do that.”
