Sunderland are on a losing run of form despite early signs of improvement under Sam Allardyce.
Sam Allardyce has told the Sunderland Echo that Sunderland’s losses to Arsenal and Watford worried him more than their defeat against Chelsea.
The Black Cats were beaten 3-1 in their most recent outing, and their performance was well short of the standard required.
However, Allardyce was more concerned by his side’s inability to get a result against Arsenal or Watford – despite competing well in those matches.
“We have to stay in the game better than we did at Chelsea,” he said. “But we didn’t deserve anything from that game.
“My bigger problem is we deserved something against Arsenal, didn’t do it. Deserved something against Watford, didn’t do it.
“That’s a bigger worry for me. When we are as good as the opposition or creating chances, we still lost those matches.”
Sunderland were well beaten by Chelsea, and the match was effectively wrapped up within the first 13 minutes.
Allardyce’s men fell 2-0 down through goals from Branislav Ivanovic and Pedro early on, and they never threatened to make a comeback.
Against Arsenal and Watford, however, Sunderland looked bright for stages – and they would have collected some points had they been more ruthless in front of goal.
Sunderland’s run of losses has been disastrous for their survival chances, as they are now five points away from safety.
The Black Cats’ next fixture comes against Manchester City on Boxing Day.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
