Chris Sutton has waded into Sunderland’s troubles and described Darron Gibson as a renegade in amongst dressing room pirates.
Celtic’s 5-0 win over Simon Grayson’s side seems to have kicked off a dressing room mutiny with a number of lingering sores bursting open in public.
Gibson’s rant wouldn’t be challenged by many supporters but delivered by a drunk player less than a week from the start of the Championship season puts the message in a different context.
Sutton was quick to highlight Sunderland’s problems last season as Davie Moyes fought as losing battle backed up by the highly ineffective chief executive Martin Bain.
Yesterday Gibson found himself disciplined but even that step attracted derision when the club were unable to spell his first name correctly, referring to the midfielder as Darren.
“I mean for him to say those things, he’s a renegade isn’t he? In a dressing room full of pirates,” Sutton explained to BBC 5 Live.
“Sunderland is a cesspit at the moment and they just don’t need this. Poor Simon Grayson, he’s got a hard enough job on.
“Gibson’s a renegade in a dressing room full of pirates”@chris_sutton73 has called Sunderland a ‘cesspit’.
What now for #SAFC ? pic.twitter.com/tkQQFWg9LU
— BBC 5 live Sport (@5liveSport) August 1, 2017
“This is a club that for years, well it’s been coming hasn’t it. He’s got a job to get this Sunderland team anywhere near the playoffs and things like this don’t help.
“You can understand the frustration amongst the supporters. It’s just stupidity in this day and age. Everybody knows that everybody has got a camera phone. Years ago, players might have got away with it.. going for a drink after you’ve got trashed but you just can’t do it. Absolutely brainless behaviour.
“They’ll throw the book at him. Privately, they’ll probably want to sell him and be touting him around but it’s not that easy.
“I don’t think it’s a sackable offence.”
