Sunderland

Dick Advocaat: 'Ellis Short not to blame for Sunderland's poor start'

By Simon Sinclair, Reporter | 16 August 2015

Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat is adamant that the blame for his side's poor start to the season lies with him and the players rather than chairman Ellis Short.

Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat has insisted that the club's poor start to the season is not the fault of chairman Ellis Short.

The Black Cats fell to their second defeat of the campaign as they lost 3-1 to Norwich City at the Stadium of Light, leading fans to turn their frustrations on the owner with a chant of 'are you watching Ellis Short'.

Sunderland spent £15m over the course of the summer, but the sale of Connor Wickham has left the net spend figure in the region of £6m, well short of the cash splashed by some of their rivals in the bottom half of the table.

However, Advocaat is adamant that the blame for their poor start lies with himself and the playing staff.

He told reporters: "With all respect, you cannot blame the president for this. Of course not.

"I have to blame myself, the players have to blame themselves and we have to find out if we can find a solution."

Sunderland face Swansea City in their next Premier League outing.