Gus Poyet’s Sunderland job safe despite defeats and tensions with fans

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/feb/16/gus-poyet-sunderland-job-safe-defeats-tensions-fans

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Gus Poyet’s position at Sunderland is under no immediate threat with the board confident the Uruguayan can ride out a rough patch and keep the team in the Premier League this season.

Such optimism will be enhanced appreciably if Poyet’s players can recover from last Tuesday’s home Premier League defeat by Queens Park Rangers and Sunday’s FA Cup reverse at Bradford City by beating West Bromwich Albion at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

With Sunderland only two points clear of the relegation zone, three points against Tony Pulis’s team would offer welcome insulation before a potentially season-defining run featuring trips to Manchester United and Hull City before Aston Villa come to Wearside.

At a time when Poyet’s style and tactics, often extremely defensive-minded, are coming under increasing scrutiny the hope is that the former Brighton manager will heed advice to adopt a more attacking, creative approach. Poyet has recently, and erroneously, accused Sunderland fans of “living in the past” and craving “kick-and-rush” football but his attempt to imbue the team with a possession-based game has been undermined by some overly deep defending and negative football.

If he and Sunderland are to prosper, there is a sense that the former Chelsea and Tottenham midfielder needs to embrace a greater sense of adventure while finding roles for his most inventive individuals, the frequently sidelined Emanuele Giaccherini and Ricardo Álvarez. Without such a loosening of the handbrake, the fear is that Jermain Defoe will not receive the service he requires to justify Sunderland’s hefty January investment in his finishing skills. A recent comment from John O’Shea, the captain, explaining that players find it difficult to “suddenly go from first gear to fifth gear” indicated that the game plans may require readjustment.

Fighting between Sunderland fans in the away end at Bradford emphasised a split among those supporters who want the manager replaced and others keen to retain the man who kept the team up last season while also leading them to the Capital One Cup final.

Chants of “Gustavo Poyet – it’s always our fault” from those wearing red and white as Sunderland surrendered 2-0 to Phil Parkinson’s League One side did not go down well with Poyet, who promptly and entirely falsely accused the media of misleading fans by misquoting him.

It was such a bad move that sceptics could suggest a man prone to blaming everyone but himself for setbacks is working on an exit strategy. Such theories will lose credence should Sunderland gain only their third home league win of the season on Saturday but another stumble could see a 40,000-plus crowd turn on a manager who still has an awful lot to prove on Wearside.

At least in O’Shea Poyet possesses an on-field leader keen to meet the challenges ahead. “We need to stick together and move on,” said the centre-half. “We have to draw a line under what’s happened, forget it and focus on the job in hand.

“Saturday’s going to be a big game. There needs to be a reaction. The fans will want to see that. But there’s no panic here or anything like that – we’re all on the same page, sticking together and hopefully we’ll get three points.

“Last season had lots of ups and downs, so in a way we’re used to dealing with that. It’s about staying calm and sticking to what we do – the more continuity we have, the better we’ll play. We have to make sure we dust ourselves down, see what kind of squad we have for the weekend and then make sure everyone is fighting together for the same goal.”