00:01Hello, James Copley here from Tyne Castle. Welcome to the Sunderland Egos post-match video.
00:05Sunderland had just lost 3-0 to Hearts during pre-season. It was a very poor performance from Sunderland.
00:11Firstly, must say congratulations to Craig Gordon on a really successful testimonial.
00:17He was very warmly received by, of course, Hearts fans, but a travelling contingent of over 3,000 Sunderland fans.
00:23That was really nice to see, but Sunderland never really got to grips with the game, to be honest.
00:28I thought the midfield three really, really struggled with Hearts' intensity.
00:32It's worth noting that Hearts are a little bit further on in their pre-season preparations.
00:36In fact, they've played four competitive games already, so I don't think there's any reason for Sunderland fans to panic.
00:43The transfer window is still open. Obviously, there's four pre-season friendlies left to play,
00:48and still a little while before that Premier League opener against West Ham in August.
00:54But it was slightly concerning that the team cohesion seemed to dip from Sunderland.
00:59They didn't look as good as they did against Sevilla and Sport and Lisbon.
01:03Hearts really, really pressed them and pushed them. They were very, very physical.
01:07I thought Sunderland's wingers, Adingret and Talby, struggled to get into the game.
01:11And Dan Neal, a player who's pushing for a start in the Premier League after midfield reinforcements have been bought by Sunderland,
01:19and really sort of struggled to get to grips with the game.
01:22But he wasn't the only one. I thought Sunderland in general were quite poor.
01:25But as I say, it is pre-season. It's about fitness. It's about team cohesion. It's about minutes.
01:30And I'm just being joined here by Rob Mason, who walks past me.
01:35I was going to sneak past him and not even say goodbye to you, wasn't he?
01:38But what would you say about Sunderland today? It wasn't the best, was it?
01:42No, it wasn't the best. In some ways, I think it was. Because if we'd won 3-0 today, the excitement everybody's got
01:49and getting carried away would have just continued. I think it's the best thing in the world.
01:54It's not good on the day. You don't want to lose a game. You don't want to not play well.
01:58But Hearts have already played two or three competitive games in cup ties against low-rank teams.
02:02They've played Dumbartney the other night.
02:03Their season start.
02:05And they've got a first league game next week.
02:07So they're a lot. They're much bigger, fitter, more physical, higher level of fitness than us,
02:14which is what you'd expect. That's exactly, I'm sure, why Sunderland fixed this friendly against Hearts today,
02:21knowing their level of fitness compared to ours, because that's exactly the kind of workout you want.
02:27Look, when we went into the playoffs, remember, everybody was cheesed off because we'd lost five games.
02:32I remember it well.
02:34In games that didn't matter.
02:35Yeah, yeah.
02:36Come kick-off against West Ham, games against Hearts, games against whoever else we play already
02:42or who we play between now and West Ham, don't count a jot.
02:46What matters is getting the team ready.
02:48This is part of the process of getting the team ready.
02:50So I wouldn't be downhearted by the fact that we haven't played well.
02:54We've been overpowered by a very good Hearts side.
02:58We've been scoring about four goals a game every game we've played,
03:00albeit against low-ranked opposition.
03:03Derek McInnes, I always think he's an excellent manager.
03:05He rejected us once.
03:07Yeah, he did indeed, but despite that, he's a good manager and he was a good player, Derek McInnes.
03:13And Derek McInnes, in the press conference I've just come out of, has made the point very fairly that Hearts are much, much further in their preparation.
03:21And it is the biggest point, isn't it really?
03:23You know, so yeah, I mean, you can get carried away and think, oh goodness me, we didn't play very well.
03:29You know, we got beat 3-0 and deserve to get beat 3-0.
03:32Credit to Hearts, let's hope Hearts have a good season.
03:34Great to honour Craig Gordon today.
03:37And Craig, on the pitch after the game, as in all the interviews he's done before the game, has spoken very, very well of Sunderland and Sunderland supporters.
03:45And I'm sure every Sunderland supporter hopes that everything's gone well for Craig.
03:49And he's fit.
03:51Unfortunately, he's only fit to play a few seconds today.
03:53He joked he'd still get his clean shoes.
03:54But hopefully Craig's problem with the nerves in his neck will rectify and he can come and play a part of this season for Hearts.
04:03We wish them well.
04:04And from our point of view, James, we look at the fact that Sunderland this season have got everything to play for.
04:10Don't be downhearted over one friendly reason.
04:13Sunderland may lose the first game against West Ham, but it will be the same level of performance as it was against Hearts.
04:18I don't think we will lose.
04:20No, I don't either.
04:21But if we were, it would be the same.
04:24I don't know who West Ham will play on this weekend.
04:27They might beat somebody 9-0.
04:28It won't make any difference to what it is on the first game of the season.
04:31They might equally be as sluggish as Sunderland are today, depending on who they're playing.
04:35As I say, friendlies are friendlies.
04:37I've seen so many seasons where the pre-season friendlies have all been great results and the real stuff starts and we're hopeless.
04:43And vice versa.
04:44I've seen us draw in Dortmund and then get relegated.
