Sunderland Head Coach Gus Poyet said that he had no excuses for his sides 0-0 draw at home to Norwich, the Black Cats' third goalless stalemate in four Premier League games. Poyet spoke after the game:
"We are losing time, we are losing games. I said in the beginning after winning a couple, we needed to win 11 to think 'Can we get to 40 ?' and we can't win a football game, so who are you going to blame? "This is where we are. The quality is what you see, there is no more. I was not expecting this. I have always said I hate excuses -- until now, for some reason, we have always had an excuse and people can use it. "Today, we have not. Today was a day to win and we didn't, so we are responsible for where we are and it's getting more and more difficult.
With no goals scored, the talking point yet again will about a dismissal for a man in red and white. Wes Brown received his marching orders with minutes to go and despite the fans booing referee Martin Atkinson off the pitch, Brown will almost certainly miss the next three games through suspension. Canaries boss Chris Hughton was in a much happier and relieved mood than his counterpart. The former Newcastle manager had this to say on this afternoons match and the red card incident:
"The challenge was certainly reckless, there's no doubt about that. "It's a shame because it was a whole-hearted game, both teams ended up having a real go. At one stage, it was pretty end-to-end and it was a shame, really, because it wasn't that type of game. "They have had a good week, Sunderland, and that can really buoy a team. Irrespective of any difficulties they have had, they have still got very good players, so in this day and age any draw, particularly with a clean sheet, away from home, that's a good draw."
Who impressed us? Here are our player ratings, starting with Sunderland.