Sunderland were beaten 2-1 by Burton Albion at the weekend, with Jack Ross’ side losing for the first time in the league.
Sunderland have had a tendency to fall behind in games, before coming back in the latter stages.
Sunderland were unbeaten this season prior to their match against Burton Albion this weekend, despite frequently having to come from behind.
But it proved too much to ask of Ross’ side to overturn a 2-0 deficit against Burton.
And Ross said: “I would be entirely honest with you if I thought there were any players in there that believed they had the divine right to be successful in this league and the divine right to come to Burton and win,” he said.
“I said to them at the end of the game, I don’t think there is that but you have to have that mental and physical synergy and I think at the moment mentally we’ve got the right approach, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that, but I think physically we’ve not. I think physically we’re wilting in that opening period.”
Sunderland almost showed their powers of recovery again at Burton, but they failed to get back into the match.
The Black Cats scored a free-kick through Chris Maguire and were pushing for an equaliser in the second half, but they were unable to protect their unbeaten record.
Despite their defeat, Sunderland remain in fourth place in the League One table – and just four points away from the automatic promotion spots.
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