COLEMAN: LET’S END HOODOO WITH UGLY WIN

CHRIS COLEMAN has called on Sunderland’s improving players to replicate the resilience shown in holding Championship leaders Wolves as they seek to avoid going a year without a home win. Sunderland host Fulham, Coleman’s former club, on Saturday desperate for three points before December 17 marks the anniversary of their last win at the Stadium of Light, 1-0 against Watford. ‘We need to win 1-0 at home,’ Sunderland’s seventh manager in four dreadful years said. ‘I don’t care if it’s ugly; if it’s swashbuckling football, fantastic. I don’t care how it comes.’ Sunderland have already claimed the unwanted English record of home games without a win in all competitions, now standing at 21. But four points and two clean sheets from their last two away games indicate the former Wales manager is getting them organised. ‘We need that platform,’ he said. ‘We are not going to win games 5-3, 4-3 every week. Wolves may do with the wealth of riches they’ve spent on fantastic players at this level. ‘We may have to win 1-0 and to do that you are going to need to keep a clean sheet. All I care about is getting results and making sure we get away from the relegation zone.’ The spirit Sunderland showed at Molineux suggests Coleman is capable of galvanising a club where after relegation from the Premier League Darron Gibson had drunkenly pinpointed team-mates who ‘don’t give a f***’. Sunderland survived Lee Cattermole’s 62nd-minute red card to defend stoically and stop Wolves’ six-game winning run. ‘We believe in what we can do,’ said goalkeeper Robbin Ruiter. ‘Of course it’s been, and still is, hard circumstances to play in. ‘We’re still nearly at the bottom of the league and we showed a great team spirit and defended really well together, especially after the red card. ‘If you see how we performed like a team, the only way is up.’ Conor Coady admitted Wolves need to improve against teams sitting deep now that they are recognised as the division’s best team. The Wolves captain said: ‘We’ve got fantastic players to do that. We haven’t done it tonight but you learn from every single game.’