Sunderland are in the Premier League relegation zone with Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur leaving them win-less after their opening five matches.
Former England international Trevor Sinclair was critical of David Moyes’ Sunderland side following their 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Sunday, as shown on BBC’s Match of the Day 2.
Sunderland have a reputation for being slow starters in the Premier League but in recent years they have always managed to escape the drop with a resurgence late in the season.
But now with the Black Cats sitting 19th in the table with just one point from their opening five matches, Sinclair feels that Sunderland need to respond better following their reaction to Harry Kane’s 59th-minute goal which proved to be the winner.
“I think there was a gulf in quality between the two sides,” he said on Match of the Day 2.
“I feel Spurs are way above what Sunderland can compete with. When you look at the game and how it panned out, when there was 15 minutes to go, Sunderland were losing 1-0 and surely the game plan has to change.
“You think, let’s take the shackles off and press and try and let’s try to win the ball back but it was just all too easy for Tottenham.
“For me this has got to come from the manager, you’ve got to change the game plan and make sure the players know this when the ball goes dead and it’s got to be a big change for the team to go and press and give themselves a chance to get back into the game.”
The former West Ham United and Queens Park Rangers midfielder also felt the Black Cats need to be more fearless in attack as they registered just two shots on target and 28 per cent possession of the ball.
“If you get beat 2-0 you still get zero points and if this is the kind of press they are putting on then it’s so easy to play against,” Sinclair continued.
“Sunderland fans have gone down there to London and they deserve at least an effort at the end where the team really goes for it.”
Sunderland are now without a win in their previous 24 Premier League matches in August and September and will get one more chance to rectify that statistic this season against Crystal Palace at the Stadium of Light this weekend (3pm kick-off).
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