Patrick Roberts delivers scathing 'not good enough' verdict on struggling Sunderland
Patrick Roberts says everyone at Sunderland accepts that the recent form is ‘not good enough’ as he called for players to take more accountability for defeats.
Sunderland extended a wretched run of form to five defeats in eight matches with a dismal home defeat to Huddersfield on Wednesday.
Roberts was part of a Sunderland attack that was substantially short of their collective talents on the night, and he says they need to start doing better quickly – starting with the trip to Millwall on Saturday.
“We started slow,” Roberts told safc.com following the 2-1 defeat to the Terriers. “We know what they were coming to do.
“We said it all week that they were going to be tight and compact and keep us as far away from their goal as possible and we’re not producing in the final third.
“We’ve got to be a lot better, me included. It’s our job, especially at home, to put the ball in the back of the net. At both ends I think we were not great tonight and let two silly goals in and not scored enough. That kills you.
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“We’ve got a big game on Saturday now to go get ready for. We have to recover and get our mind right and go again.”
Sunderland have the youngest squad in the Championship and that has often been offered as an excuse at times this season.
That includes last weekend when Mowbray put the lack of cutting edge in front of goal down to ‘naivety.’
Roberts, though, says there is a limit to what can be explained away by the lack of experience in the Sunderland team.
“It’s a young squad but [saying that only gets you so far]. We’ve got to be accountable. I’ve got to be accountable and the young lads have to be accountable as well. Fans don’t come to see us get beat at home.
“Us as players, and the manager, we know it’s not good enough and we’ve got to turn it around.”
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