SAFC players must learn League One lessons

Jack Ross believes his Sunderland side are still adapting to life in League One but has demanded they learn the harsh lessons quickly.

The 2-1 defeat to Burton Albion was a sharp wake-up call with the display way below the standards expected by Ross though the manager did take ultimate responsibility for the defeat.

Ross named his most attacking side yet with Charlie Wyke - who later went off with a knee injury - Jerome Sinclair, Josh Maja all starting, with support from Lynden Gooch (pictured) and skipper George Honeyman.

Ross wants his side to show more resilience to the challenges posed by the opposition right from the off and to be more canny when it comes to their physical approach to the game.

Ross said: “In terms of how we set the team up, we knew we’d give up certain areas, we asked a lot of Lee [Cattermole] and George [Honeyman] in that respect because they had an extra man in there. “We looked at our front four and believed they would cause significant troubles but there has to be the fundamentals that underpin it, in terms of how hard you work and how physical you are.

“Physical doesn’t mean kicking people, it means using your body. That comes from within. We are still, in my eyes, going through a learning process in this league and what we will face.

With eight games played, the League One campaign remains in its infancy but Ross is demanding his players learn quickly.

Ross said: “If we went and won the game it would have left us in a really good position, that makes it even more frustrating for us.

“We are still in an okay position but do we accept that as being okay? Certainly not from me. That is not why I came to the club. We have to keep growing that in the changing room.

“We have to ensure that when we have days like Saturday that we don’t buckle under that, we have shown resilience in terms of the reaction in previous games.”