Source: SKY_Sports
Sbragia admits fear factor
Sunderland boss Ricky Sbragia admitted fear of relegation is gripping his players following their 2-0 defeat against Everton at the Stadium of Light.
Second-half goals from Steven Pienaar and Marouane Fellaini kept Everton on course for Europa League qualification and left the Black Cats four points clear of the relegation zone with just three games to play.
Sunderland now face away games at Bolton and Portsmouth before taking on Chelsea at home on the final day of the campaign, and Sbragia was disappointed that his players had not delivered in a home game he had identified as a must-win.
"I think fear does play a big part," he told Sky Sports. "After the first goal I felt Everton stepped up their game and we couldn't live with it.
"I would have loved for us to get the points today but now we'll have to get them at Bolton.
"They got the first goal and, from then on, I thought we were a bit fragile. We never got hold of it. We huffed and puffed.
"I thought we were careless and there was not enough energy. We went 1-0 down and just seemed to accept it. We couldn't inject enough pace into the game and then the second goal was a bad one defensively.
"We had a great opportunity today but we failed to deliver. We just didn't seem to have it in us but now we've just got to stick at it. We get back to training tomorrow and focus on what is a big game at Bolton on Saturday," he added.
