COLEMAN: ‘WE NEED TO BE BRAVE TO END HOME MISERY’

Chris Coleman admits he may need to ‘be brave’ and mix things up at the Stadium of Light as he looks to end Sunderland’s wretched home record, writes Phil Smith.

Coleman played down the prospect of changing routines during the week after Simon Grayson initiated numerous changes to try and end the hoodoo, including switching halves for the warm-up.

After his first home defeat, 3-1 to Reading, Coleman suggested he may be more open to freshening things up. He said: “Something needs to change, I need to change something.

“We play Wolves next week and then we are at home to Fulham, but we need something. We need to be brave.

“Is that me being brave and changing a lot of it round to what it has been? Maybe it is.

“I am not afraid to do that if I think we have to, but something needs to change. That’s clear.”

Coleman insists the Stadium of Light can make the difference in a positive sense for Sunderland this season, but said his players have to adapt better in games.

He said: “It sounds funny, but, in the situation we’re in, this place could be such a powerful place for us. But we’ve got to get them with us.

“A 3-1 defeat at home, it’s not going to do it. Yes, you could say it was OK before we were down to 10 men, but things happen and you can go down to 10 men.

“Deal with it, you have to change things, stay in the game and you can’t lose focus and concentration, and that’s what we did and it cost us.

“We saw a lot of good signs at Villa Park and again last week (at Burton). But they were away from home.

“This was my first home game and there’s a lot for me to ponder.

“There’s a lot for all of us to go away and try to make better. The two away performances were quite encouraging. This was a step back.”