Coleman blast at Black Cat ‘kittens’
SUNDERLAND boss Chris Coleman questioned the loyalty of some of his more experienced players after the Black Cats crashed out of the FA Cup.
Goals from Rudy Gestede and Martin Braithwaite secured a comfortable 2-0 victory for Boro against the severely weakened visitors, who have 11 players on their injury list.
And while hailing the young players who stepped in at the Riverside Stadium, Coleman issued a warning that he will not tolerate others who he clearly believes are not up for the relegation fight.
The Black Cats chief said: “One or two of them are out for a few months and have had scans but could one or two be doing a bit more to be with us? Yes.
“We’re in a dogfight and you don’t go into a dogfight with kittens. I just need whoever is ready for it and the boys were ready.
“We were naive and nervous but at least they were out there having a go.”
Coleman cited the example of striker Lewis Grabban, who abruptly terminated his loan spell this week and returned to Bournemouth.
He added: “He got a lot of goals but we didn’t get a lot of wins if you look at the statistics. Consolations and penalties are fine but we won one game in 16.
“If he doesn’t want to be with us, fine. Why should I get down on my hands and knees to get somebody to stay at Sunderland?”
The outlook is brighter for Boro boss Tony Pulis, who admitted he would relish a repeat of his trip to the 2011 FA Cup Final with Stoke.
Pulis said: “I have great respect for the FA Cup – it’s the best competition in the world.
“We’ve four wins out of five games so confidence is very good.”
Boro are back on the fringes of the Championship play-off race but Pulis resisted the urge to target promotion.
He added: “There’s no one who wants promotion more than me but my remit was to come here and have a really good look at the place and try to build something.”