Parky: I understand fans’ frustration
PHIL Parkinson insists he understands Sunderland fans’ ‘desperation’ to get out of League One - and accepts the criticism which comes with it.
The Black Cats go into tonight’s game at Fleetwood Town six points outside the automatic promotion spots, albeit with two games in hand of second-placed Peterborough United.
Parkinson has come under fire from fans after his side conceded a last-minute equaliser at Doncaster last weekend, which came on the back of a shock home defeat to MK Dons.
In truth, Parkinson has been under scrutiny since the start of the season with some supporters unconvinced by the dramatic uptick in results last term, which saw Sunderland take 29 points out of 36 after Christmasafter a very poor start to his reign.
Despite starting the season with just one defeat in ten League games, Parkinson freely admits Sunderland have not been at their best so far.
Yet they are still within reach of the automatic promotion places - and the boss is convinced his side will only get better
He said: “I think there is more to come from us. We have to demand more out of individuals within the team.
“Elements of our play have been good but I don’t think we can hide away from it, the dominance we have had in games has not been reflected in the goals we have scored.
“We have to improve on that and kill teams off.
“We are aware of that, we are not trying to hide from it and pretend we are delighted with everything and everything is fantastic.
“We came in on Monday after the Doncaster game and myself and Steve (Parkin, assistant manager) sat down and looked at how we could change things and make the system we played more effective because at times we were excellent and we should have been out of sight.
“I understand the way the fans feel and their desperation to get out of League One.
“It is the same at other clubs I have been at but it is magnified here by the volume of the support.
“I know what I have to do in terms of being at the top end of this table because I have worked there for a long time, promotions, play-offs and in and around it.
“We have to be more threatening and effective in elements of our play, we know that.”
Of the criticism itself, Parkinson added: “I have to stick to what myself and the staff believe we should do on a week-toweek basis.
“I block everything else out, as a lot of other experienced managers do, and that is not to say we disrespect supporters’ views - we know how passionately they care about their club - but we have to look at each game and see where we need to improve.
“After the Ipswich game we were flying high, we have had a bit of a dip since then but I felt the performance level at Doncaster was good and I could see us getting back to how we can play, which is positive.
“When you have a period where it seems things are going against you, you concede that lastminute goal when two weeks ago it might not have gone in the back of the net.
“Other teams will go through similar periods as well.
“We just have to be strong and concentrate on what we have to do.”
“I understand why people look back, though, and believe it or not I am my own biggest critic.
“I always think ‘should I have done this, or should I have done that’.”