Sunderland caretaker boss Kevin Ball refused to be down after their defeat at home to Manchester United.
Ball was left to reflect upon a fourth successive home defeat for his team, who have now collected just one point from a possible 21 this season, but one which yielded more positives.
Asked if he felt the players were playing for him, he said: "The players are fighting for themselves - they need to fight for themselves as well.
"What I mean by that is they need to work hard for each other, and they know that. I will demand that from them and I would expect them to demand it from themselves.
"If people feel that's because of me, that's fantastic. But it's not about me, it's about the players in this club and it's important they do work very, very hard to give themselves the best chance of getting the results."
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