Coleman: Unity of players and fans an inspiration

Chris Coleman has praised the Sunderland support for their part in Saturday’s stunning comeback at Bristol City.

And the Black Cats boss believes ‘harmony and unity’ between fans and players could play a key part in the survival bid.

The scenes at the final whistle were in stark contrast to the boos at half-time and chants of ‘You’re not fit to wear the shirt’ when Bristol City raced into a 3-0 lead.

In the second half, the fans gave the players their full backing and were rewarded with three goals in 20 minutes to spark wild scenes.

Coleman thanked the support for sticking with the side, amid the ongoing backdrop of talk of possible protests at future home games with fans unhappy with owner Ellis Short.

“They were brilliant,” said Coleman. “We honestly deserved to get booed off at halftime. “You don’t want to pay to watch that. You don’t want to travel all that way to watch that. “What complaints can we have about the treatment we get from our supporters who had probably been travelling from 3am that morning? There were 1,600 of them and we’re in the bottom three.

“It’s really incredible, really, so we’ve got no complaints about getting booed off.

“But it’s a double-edged sword with our fans.

“There is a lot of them and they are very passionate and if you disappoint them – and we have disappointed them of late – you’re going to know about it.

“But if you please them and give them what they deserve, which is everything we’ve got, as we saw in the second 45 minutes, they show that they are absolutely magnificent.

“Bearing in mind, on the back of talking about demonstration, possibly, because of the situation the club is in, and I asked them to stay with us. After 45 minutes, I felt a bit cheeky asking that after that performance.

“But, at 90, cor, that little bit of harmony and unity between us and them could be what is going to give us a good chance of getting out of trouble.”