Will Grigg missed a penalty as Sunderland failed to progress in the League Cup yesterday evening.
Sunderland were dumped out of the League Cup yesterday, after they lost the shoot out to their divisional rivals.
Grigg was one of the Sunderland players who missed from the spot, as his goalscoring woes continued.
And Parkinson admits that he is annoyed that Grigg didn’t even hit the target from the spot.
“The worst-case scenario should be that you make the keeper work,” he said.
“He’s not the first one to miss a penalty, but we are frustrated that he didn’t make the keeper work at the very least.
“The supporters have been right behind him since I have been here, he’s got to believe, and he has to play with a bit more conviction.”
Grigg’s missed penalty rather sums up the way that things have gone for the striker at Sunderland to date.
The Northern Ireland international joined the Black Cats in January, but he has never even threatened to live up to expectations so far.
Grigg has always been a prolific scorer at League One level throughout his career, but he has badly struggled to find the net at Sunderland.
The 28-year-old has hit just seven goals in 38 appearances for Sunderland since joining, with his form now extremely worrying.
Parkinson’s men are next in action at the weekend against Southend United, but it remains to be seen whether Grigg will keep his place.
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