‘On the slide…’: KLD told to ‘take responsibility’ after Sunderland suffer sixth-straight defeat

Sunderland suffered a sixth-straight defeat in the Championship vs Southampton on Saturday.

For the first time since 2006, Sunderland have lost six games on the spin.

On Saturday it was Southampton who dealt Sunderland another defeat, scoring twice before the break before Black Cats drew level through goals from Romaine Mundle and Jobe Bellingham.

But Southampton showed their class after drawing level, with Joe Rothwell scoring twice in quick succession to hand Southampton the 4-2 win.

Defeat on Saturday keeps the Black Cats in 11th place of the table, with the gap to the bottom three staying at nine points.

Another painful episode in Sunderland’s season
With 11 points now the gap between the Black Cats at the top six, any hope of a play-off finish is all but diminished.

And after performances like the one vs Southampton, any hope of a play-off finish next time round seems to be squandering.

There’s so much work that needs to be done to this Sunderland XI and they club still need to appoint a new manger in the summer as well.

The first hour of yesterday’s game shone a light on how poor Sunderland are right now, with focus starting to tun to sporting director Kristjaan Speakman and owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus.

A huge summer ahead on Wearside

Looking back to three or four years ago, Sunderland are in a much better place.

Even two years ago, Sunderland were still a League One team, so the fact that their play-off hopes are now devastated be a run of six-straight defeats, it doesn’t seem so bad.

But expectations remain high given the heritage of the club, and the investment that’s been had in the last couple of transfer windows.

Although it’s not been huge spending, it’s spending nonetheless. But it’s where the money’s been spent that seems to be the issue.

Sunderland just don’t have a striker right now and with no Jack Clarke in the side, they’re a very average team.

So that’s where the frustration lies. And it’s frustrating that Sunderland have had two transfer windows now to rectify their lack of a striker, and they’ve failed to so do in both windows.

A huge summer lies ahead then, with new players and a new manager needed, and maybe a rethink about the way that the club is building towards the Premier League, with this season certainly a setback.