Sunderland

Gus Poyet: "We are no longer progressing"

By Joe Fish, Reporter | 14 February 2015

Gus Poyet admits that Sunderland are "a little bit stuck" as they struggle to adapt to the playing style that he has been trying to implement since his appointment.

Gus Poyet has admitted that Sunderland have failed to adapt to his style of football since his appointment as manager 15 months ago.

The Uruguayan arrived at the Stadium of Light with a reputation for implementing a short-passing game complemented with English aggression.

However, he was forced to admit that his players 'couldn't pass the ball three yards' to each other after they became the first team to drop Premier League points at home to Queens Park Rangers this season.

Now Poyet has confessed that he is concerned that his team are "a little bit stuck" in their progression.

"If I am in the stand watching my team - the one I love and wait all week to watch - and I see 11 players who cannot pass the ball three yards, what am I going to do? I am going to get upset," he is quoted as saying by The Mirror. "When I say things, that is natural too. Not because it is what I think they might want to hear. I want to convince the fans by playing football and winning, nothing else.

"You cannot imagine how much I am having to change. Before I came here, I was recognised for playing a certain style of football. Are we playing that football? No. Do I want to lose that recognition? No. I am going to fight it, but there is a process, and the process at the moment is that I have to do certain things to move the ball differently.

"I take responsibility. I thought it would be quicker, and that is my opinion. Quicker because of the way I train, and the way I have convinced players in the past. We were getting better towards the end of last season. But it looks like we have got to a point where we are no longer progressing and we are a little bit stuck."

The Black Cats face League One Bradford City, who conquered Chelsea in the last round, in the FA Cup last 16 on Sunday.