M'Vila reveals constructive talks

20 August 2015 10:31

Sunderland new boy Yann M'Vila has lifted the lid on the cards-on-the-table talks head coach Dick Advocaat ordered in the wake of his side's tame surrender against Norwich.

Sunday's regular debrief after a Barclays Premier League fixture took on a very different complexion this week after the 67-year-old Dutchman asked his players for their views as to what had gone wrong in the opening two fixtures, which have left the Black Cats pointless and facing a backlash from fans.

But M'Vila, who was handed a debut against the Canaries following his season-long loan move from Rubin Kazan, insists the discussions were constructive and positive.

He told the Sunderland Echo: "You can't just say, 'It's not bad, it's not bad'. No, it is bad, so let's get going and work hard for each other.

"You need to raise your concerns because it's easy to applaud and say everything is all right. It's much harder to talk about things and what you did wrong.

"We had a very good meeting on Sunday and the coach stressed that above all else, we need to be defensively solid before we attack.

"It was good to talk. I can understand what was being said, even if I can't speak the language yet. But you need to speak about the difficulties."

Source: PA