Sunderland captain John O'Shea pulled no punches in his post-match interview following his side's 4-1 thumping at the hands of Burnley yesterday afternoon, describing the defending on show as "unacceptable".
O'Shea concedes that Sunderland simply weren't good enough
The Black Cats suffered from one of their all too familiar second half collapses as they conceded three goals in the space of just 15 minutes to go 4-0 down before Jermain Defoe netted a consolation goal 20 minutes before time.
O'Shea is well aware that he and his team-mates' defending made things relatively simple for Sean Dyche's men, saying that "the goals we conceded were not acceptable" before adding that "the players have to take responsibility."
The Irishman insisted that Sunderland want to "make teams earn their goals, not gift them like we did [against Burnley]."
Wearsiders' injury crisis worsens with fresh double blow
The veteran centre-back started yesterday's match in central midfield thanks to Sunderland's injury troubles keeping Jason Denayer out of the squad, although he was moved to centre-back when Lamine Kone was taken off after colliding with the advertising boards in the first half.
"We will have to rectify this quickly" stressed O'Shea, who went on to say that there can be "no excuse for what went on".
The 35-year-old admitted that "the dressing room is not a good place" following yesterday's hefty defeat but added that he and his team-mates "know we can quickly turn this around".
Sunderland's case yesterday was certainly not helped by the news that Jordan Pickford will be out of action for around two months after picking up an injury in the defeat to Manchester United on Boxing Day.
The injuries to Kone and Victor Anichebe in yesterday's match only make David Moyes' job even tougher, with transfer funds unlikely to be provided to the Scotsman despite his squad desperately needing some form of investment in the transfer window this month.