Gus Poyet has admitted that he would find it difficult to score goals if he played in his current Sunderland side.

The Uruguayan scored 54 goals in 145 Premier League appearances for Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur during his playing career, but his team have found the back of the net just 19 times so far this season, with only Aston Villa having scored fewer.

"I don't think I would be able to score too many goals in this team because we don't cross enough," the Daily Star quotes the manager as saying.

"We practise and we tell players to cross. That is the plan but we don't deliver enough. I am not really a stats coach but after 20 games or so, I like to look at how we've done compared to other teams and for balls into the box, we are one of the worst. Not the worst, but close.

"So that is something we need to improve and then it is up to Jermain [Defoe], Steven Fletcher and Connor Wickham to put the ball into the net."

Sunderland host Burnley in the Premier League this weekend.