Sunderland boss Roy Keane was brutally frank in his assessment of the 1-0 defeat at Stoke - quite simply the better side won. "The be all and end all of it is that we were nowhere near good enough.

"We started off sloppy, didn't pass the ball right and didn't defend well.

"I am absolutely disappointed with how we played tonight, and I am not going to make excuses other than say we were not good enough.

"Stoke played well, and whether they scored from a throw-in or a free-kick, it doesn't matter.

"We should be able to defend set pieces, and at the end of the day this is football and they are perfectly within their rights to create chances anyway they want to.

"Like I said I am very disappointed and probably should have made a few changes from Saturday."