Martin O’Neill was dejected last night as Tony Mowbray’s Middlesbrough dumped Sunderland out of the Capital One Cup.
A first half strike from Scott McDonald settled the issue as Sunderland’s poor start to the season continued.
The excitement of O’Neill’s arrival last December has worn off with one win and six draws from their eight opening Premiership fixtures, resulting in the Black Cats being seen as relegation candidates on FREEbets.org.uk.
“We didn’t play well enough and we didn’t deserve to go through,” O’Neill admitted. “It was really disappointing. We started off brightly in the game but Middlesbrough forced their way into the game and in truth we didn’t create enough.
“Eventually we didn’t have enough confidence but not at the start of the game and not on the back of a strong draw on Saturday (against Stoke).
“I thought it was quite the opposite but if you’re not playing well enough that can drain you and you can start playing the wrong options. Collectively we were not good enough to go through and that’s very disappointing indeed.”
Sunderland’s biggest problem is their reliance on Steven Fletcher for goals as O’Neill acknowledged.
“We have to do more to get goals and we have to look dangerous,” the former Celtic boss added.
“Tonight there must have been six occasions I can recall where we’ve had really good position in the penalty area and we’ve either overrun it or misjudged the next ball through and the move evaporates. That’s disheartening.
“I think that is unusual. Usually the teams I have managed have been able to score goals and naturally I’m disappointed but that’s my responsibility.
“We’ve disappointed in the past, even in my time here, and I’ve deservedly been booed because of it in quite a number of games last season towards the end. You’ve got to be able to take the criticism and that’s something we have to face up to.”
In contrast Mowbray was delighted with the result with his side also flying high in the Championship.
“I am delighted for the team and the supporters,” the Boro boss said. “It was a decent performance.
“Cup competition is about getting through to the next round and we managed to do that. I think there will be a lot of happy people on Teeside.
“I have total respect for Martin and his team. I’m sure he’s scratching his head as to why they’ve not scored as many goals as he’d want.
“They’ve got a lot of attacking prowess and a lot of players who can score goals. I’m sure Martin will find the answer to the conundrum he’s got at the moment and find more goals.”
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