Victory a gift after tough Christmas

AS far as Christmases go, things could have been a lot merrier at the Stadium of Light.

The defeat against Manchester United on St Stephen’s Day was expected, although we weren’t expecting a rout. The win against Bolton was welcome, but very stressful.

Having gone two goals up playing some nice stuff, we suddenly looked a poor team when we let Bolton pull a goal back just before half time and the second-half was one of the longest 45 minutes I’ve experienced. Mercifully, the Trotters are so bad that despite loads of possession they struggled to create chances.