Having made controversial claims against Sunderland fans, Gus Poyet has now written an open letter to the club’s supporters, taking full responsibility for the team’s terrible recent form. Time will tell as to whether this will be enough to keep support by his side.
The letter was written after Poyet accused fans of “living in the past” and wanting “kick-and-run football.” Fans do not like criticism, and comments like that are more than likely to turn fans against a manager. During Sunderland’s recent FA Cup exit against Bradford City, there were chants such as “Gus Poyet, it’s always our fault.” This made matters clear: it is time for the club or the manager to take steps to repair a fractured relationship with the club’s fans.
Posted on Sunderland’s website is a letter from The Black Cats manager urging the fans not to let anyone break their relationship. Furthermore, Poyet said: “I promise you that I care and I want to win as much as you do and no one thinks more time every day about the team than I do. So I invite you all to be stay positive, to be strong, closer to each other and keep believing in what we started together last year.”
His latest comments directed towards fans almost made Poyet seem like a man who was looking for the sack, but with this letter he is at least showing that he still is determined to get the team back on track. However, this really needs to happen soon. The only way to convince fans the club is moving in the right direction is by achieving strong results on the pitch.
Thanks to their disappointing points tally in the second half of the season, Sunderland are only sitting two points above the relegation zone. That means that a loss against Tony Pulis’ West Brom on Saturday may well put them right into the bottom three. The recent statistics do not look too good either. Sunderland have only picked up six points from the last 24 in the league; things need to improve fast.
In the January transfer window, Sunderland splashed the cash on former England striker Jermain Defoe. After the failed project, Sunderland really need a striker to provide more goals. The likes of Steven Flecther and Conor Wickham have only scored seven league goals so far this season. Wickham was a prolific part of last season’s narrow escape from the drop, but has not been able to sustain his form so far this season. Defoe may yet still be the solution to escape the drop. He has scored two goals in four Premier League matches so far.
Gus Poyet was brought in last season to secure the position in the league, and then to start work on bringing stability and progress to Wearside. Unfortunately it seems like Poyet needs to focus on just keeping the club in the league this season as well. After spending a small fortune on bringing in players, there can be no more excuses from the manager. If they cannot put in a good run of results over the coming months, the Mackems may have to play at less glamorous grounds next season.
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