Borini’s comments worrying

Sunderland’s draw against West Ham might have been a slightly better performance than they have given of late, but one point was never enough.

Then, after the game, came Fabio Borini’s comments that the team this season hasn’t been as united as in recent years.

I don’t know what disappointed me most, Sunderland’s failure to win again or Borini’s at least honest revelations, as a dressing room that is not all pulling in the right direction has little chance and it is no wonder we are where we are.

I have played in plenty of relegation battles, games where the pressure is enormous and if you just have one or two who don’t fancy it or think they are better than playing in a struggling team then that is a team that is going through the trapdoor.

During my career I played in three last day of the season fixtures where we could have gone down and the nerves and tension doesn’t get any higher than those sorts of games.

Two of them against Liverpool and Manchester City we won, but failed in the other, losing to Everton in the late 1970s that cost us a top flight place.

Even though we went down in that game, I know every player gave everything.

We had been on a great run of results but fell at the last hurdle, but I couldn’t live with myself if I thought any of us in the dressing room after the game hadn’t left everything on the field at Goodison Park.

That’s why I find Borini’s comments so worrying.

If, and when, we go down I want it to be simply because we weren’t good enough and for no other reasons.