Jack Ross claims there’s something Sunderland players need to understand – and quickly

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Sunderland lost 2-1 away at Fleetwood Town on Tuesday night.

Sunderland boss Jack Ross has told The Northern Echo that he thinks his players need to understand that the club do not want to be in League One again next season.

The Black Cats were left with an uphill task to break into the automatic promotion spots after a 1-1 draw with Portsmouth on Saturday afternoon, but their challenge is now over.

Sunderland headed to Fleetwood Town on Tuesday night knowing they had to win, and were on course for all three points when Lee Cattermole struck his side into a first half lead.

However, Sunderland collapsed in the second half, with Paddy Madden equalising on 73 minutes before Ashley Eastham scored a dramatic late winner for Fleetwood.

The result means Sunderland can no longer finish in the top two, with Luton Town and Barnsley both winning promotion, and a playoff campaign now faces the Black Cats.

Draws have been Sunderland’s downfall. Whilst they’ve lost just four league games this season, the fewest in League One, they’ve drawn 19 – by far the most in the division.

Manager Ross has come in for criticism on that front, and especially after Tuesday’s collapse, and he has offered a strong message to his players ahead of the playoffs.

Ross has suggested that his players need to understand that the club don’t want another League One campaign, refusing to sugar-coat his thoughts as he demanded that his squad get out of League One and back into the Championship having fallen short.

“It’s a time to not sugar-coat anything,” said Ross. “The players have to understand that we don’t want to spend another season in this league. That’s not being disrespectful to the league because we know how tough it’s been, and we can see that from where we’ll finish. But every single player who has come to Sunderland should have ambitions of playing in at least one higher league. I’m the same as a manager.”

“The brutal reality is that they have to face up to the fact that they have to do certain things better, otherwise that won’t happen. I don’t want to have another season in League One, and they shouldn’t want to either,” he added.