The first five minutes of that second half was unacceptable
Jack Ross was without any doubt the happier of the two managers as he saw his Sunderland team come back from a goal behind to beat the Clarets 3-1 in the League Cup.
“We felt we have made big strides in changing the culture at the club. Fans have endured some tough times but to watch their team win at a Premier League team is nice for them.”
Sean Dyche was anything but happy as his team turned in a shocking second half showing. “The reality of football is delivering a performance,” he said after the game. “If you don’t deliver then it’s irrelevant who are you are playing against. In the second half there weren’t enough people actively taking the game on, and if I’m really honest, and I’ve told them this, if they look when you’re picking a team and ask, why am I not playing? Well, that’s why. The last half an hour is why, because you lay down a marker in those games.
“In those games we’re looking for big characters and big performers. I thought Chris Wood did that. He looked a real handful and how we should have looked for the second half. A few stuck at it, to be fair, and we took Azza off as a precaution because Johann almost definitely won’t be ready for the weekend.
“But collectively that’s a very strong group and I’m expecting that group to perform tonight and they didn’t in the second half. The first five minutes of that second half was unacceptable for a group as experienced as I had out there. Those players have been good in training and the standard has been very high. But all that goes out the window if you’re not ready to perform.”
It was all square at half time but Dyche said of the first half: “I thought we were in complete control in the first half hour and just made a mistake they capitalised on. Up until then we played very well, kept the ball, probed and asked questions and should certainly have been two up at half time.
“But it does go to show you the clinical edge in football is the important part in both boxes. Even after conceding we were still in good shape and then the first five minutes of the second half, from a very experienced group, is unacceptable. The first one they get is a ricochet and the second one is mystifying from a very experienced group of players all standing on the six-yard line.
“I don’t want to discredit Sunderland, but we didn’t do enough overall to win the game and that’s my biggest disappointment because that is an experience group and one I believe in. Equally, on the second-half showing that’s why the team is playing at the minute (in the Premier League). It’s as simple as that sometimes.”
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