Sunderland 0-1 QPR: Instant reaction from the press box

Sunderland Echo

Phil Smith and James Copley react after Sunderland's 1-0 defeat to QPR at the Stadium of Light

Transcript

00:00Hello, welcome to the stadium. James Copley and Phil Smith here for the Sunland Network.

00:04Sunland have just lost 1-0 to QPR. Five losses on this spin, heading into a playoff campaign

00:10against the now-known Coventry City. Phil, not ideal in the slightest?

00:14No, really, really worrying. I don't think there's any way to sort of dress it up.

00:18We spoke last week about Sunland being really poor, even with their strongest team,

00:24but obviously having loads to play for. They've kind of been an understandable difference in desire.

00:28You know, QPR had nothing to play, but the manager's been put on guard and leave,

00:32and Midway Post wants to go to another club. I can't understand why they would have so much more intensity in their play

00:37than Sunland did now. Sunland obviously gifted up an early goal again,

00:41and that makes things really difficult against them all, but it's created nothing.

00:44The keeper's barely had a save to make. It's really, really worrying.

00:48I just don't see where the goals have come from at the moment.

00:51I think it's really poor and disappointing. I know a lot of people have talked about

00:54a switch being flicked when it comes to the playoffs, but on current form,

00:58you can't see it's beaten Coventry City in the playoffs, you've come in red hot

01:01with the boost of having secured the playoff place.

01:04And I just think, you know, these last five games we've ummed and ahmed about getting people fit

01:08and this and that, that they still also have a responsibility to match-going fans

01:12who part with the cash. And I feel like they've been let down these past five games, I really do.

01:17Yeah, I understood a lot of the strategy I expected so much more in the last two games.

01:20Oh, understood. And that's my big worry.

01:22And that expectation was set by Lebris.

01:24Yeah, yeah. And I think that like, at the moment, none of our attacking players are in form.

01:28No. Which is really, really horrendously broad.

01:31There is nobody at the moment. In the end they're obviously brilliant at Bristol City,

01:34but again today it doesn't matter. At the moment, whoever plays up front is really isolated.

01:38A big question mark, Lefe, he's obviously such a talent, but he looks wasted on the left midfielders.

01:43Where they went, where they were earlier in the season, you know, I think Sunderland will be better in the playoffs

01:48because I think the tension and the pressure and the intensity of the games, what the man that we are,

01:52I think they'll have to be better. But at the moment I just don't see a lot of pause for optimism.

01:57We are so far off the pace.

01:59And the worry as well, the last time we were at the country we got spiked 3-0.

02:02We have to go there next, obviously, before returning here at the Stadium of Life for the second leg.

02:07Yes, some of them will have to and will probably improve, but it's such a tough daunting task given their history with Coventry as well.

02:14Results against them over the past couple of seasons haven't been there.

02:18They hate us as well. It's an intense atmosphere down there. It's just, yeah, it's tough.

02:24I imagine Coventry will go off favourites in that game.

02:26I don't think the game between the two will have too much bearing in terms of it's very different circumstances

02:32which Coventry played for their lives at playoff plays.

02:35But yeah, just quite concerned.

02:37Just one more book there. Six minutes at a time in the second half. Absolute joke.

02:41The ball was in play for about five minutes in that second half.

02:44Every week, fans have been completely shortchanged by these this year.

02:47This trend and this idea of adding the time on properly and properly timing it has gone out the window, hasn't it?

02:54Because we were seeing games with 15 minutes at a time and all that. It's being scrapped. It's being ditched. It's crap really.

02:59Don't get me wrong. We suddenly could have played for another 45 minutes. I don't think anyone would have scored today.

03:04But the fans have been completely shortchanged. That was an absolute joke today.

03:08Shall we talk about the fans just quickly? Because it feels like there is a little bit of a disconnect which has grown.

03:13I don't think many fans would accept that this has been a largely positive season.

03:16There were a couple of boos at half-time, a couple of boos at full-time as well.

03:19I've checked in with a couple of Southern fans. That was definitely aimed at the performances and the form.

03:24It's just not ideal, is it really?

03:26No. Listen, there's been nothing to celebrate about the last few performances.

03:30You can have that perspective in terms of it being a really positive season.

03:33These players have done really, really well for the most seasons.

03:36But I think this is totally actual that fans who pay their money in to come and watch this level of performance are going to be concerned.

03:41And listen, the players have plenty of improved now because they've been poor for a few weeks now.

03:45The mood behind the scenes has been, we'll turn up for the big games when it matters.

03:49They have to go and show that now.

03:51Well, we should say to balance that, that the lack of appreciation was largely positive and there was a fair amount of Sunderland fans.

03:56Well, people will have heard the noise, however, in the video.

03:58So we're not just concentrating on the boos. There is a very mixed feeling within the fan base.

04:02But on the whistle tomorrow, I imagine people are going to be inundated with questions for you, Phil.

04:07We'll have a podcast as well.

04:08Yeah, head over to the Sunderland Echo website for all of the latest ahead of the playoffs.

04:12We'll try and bring you everything you possibly can.

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