Now is no time for negative vibes

AFTER a spirited performance against Manchester United on Saturday, the mood around Sunderland has lifted slightly.

However, I spent most of the last week with my jaw on the floor as a succession of SAFC employees spoke to the press about how we’ll struggle to stay up.

This is the time when you want everyone coming out with bravado and lying through their back teeth in order to boost morale.

Daryl Murphy? Yeah, he’s the man to shoot us to Premiership survival. Paul McShane? Of course the Honey Monster can keep us up, he’s a rock at the back. But what do we get instead? Phil Bardsley reckons we haven’t been playing as a team, Kenwyne Jones says we’ve been slack and Ricky Sbragia thinks we don’t have a natural leader, which must have thrilled captain, Dean Whitehead.

Though all may be true none of it is reassuring given the situation we’re in. The last thing we need is negative vibes settling in the camp.

Since Keano’s departure I have longed for memorable interviews which stray from the inane and predictable. But after the last seven days I’m going to be a lot more careful what I wish for. Aside from Ricky talking about how poor our captain is, we also had Dwight Yorke paraded at a press conference and he promptly compared our run of poor form on the pitch to a run of bad luck in the bedroom, adding that morale is clearly low. “If you’re buzzing and you are going out every night pulling women… you want to tell everyone about it,” Yorkie told a baffled press room. Honestly, you couldn’t make it.

Poor old Ricky doesn’t seem to know whether he’s coming or going though. With six matches to go including games against Hull and West Brom next up and confidence wavering, his latest claim that “We don’t have a full squad of talent” is unbelievable given the huge money invested over the last two or three seasons. On paper our first team squad looks no worse than the likes of West Ham’s or Wigan’s who find themselves well clear of relegation.

Although the comments coming from the Stadium of Light caused confusion amongst supporters, Ricky’s reaction to Alan Shearer’s appointment brought downright outrage. Ricky laughed that he was “Glad we don’t have to play them again this season,” before adding that Shearer’s appointment was “bad news for everyone” at the bottom of the table. Can you imagine if Ricky entered the world of boxing? “Yeah, it’s gonna be a tough fight, this one. He’s got a really hard punch and I’ve got a really soft jaw, so if he hits me there I’m out for the count.”

This weekend’s clash against Hull is the biggest in our recent history. If I have to spend the days before it hearing how poor we are from our gaffer then is it a waste of time even turning up?

* Read more from Martyn McFadden at www.a-love-supreme.com