Danny Batth has branded Sunderland's 5-1 hammering at the hands of Stoke City 'unacceptable' but says the Black Cats must not 'overreact' after one bad defeat. Sunderland suffered their heaviest home reverse for more than 40 years as their error-strewn performance was punished by the Potters, as former Black Cats boss Alex Neil enjoyed a winning return to Wearside.
It was also a painful day for skipper Batth, who was lining up against his former club, but he says it is important Sunderland do not overreact to the result and instead concentrate on the fact that they have exceeded all expectation this season since winning promotion to the Championship. He said: "It was disappointing, we are frustrated with ourselves, and we have to look at ourselves to see how we can do better.
"Stoke deserved to win the game and we have to look at why. We knew we would face a team that would be aggressive and we try to play the way we play, I don't have the answers right now.
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"It's not good enough and we have to do better. As a team we have to find the answers from within. We can only do what we can do. We have surprised ourselves this season, the club and the supporters to a degree.
"When we do lose, let's not overreact. The scoreline is unacceptable, and we have to come out fighting. The manager won't hold any grudges, but he doesn't pull any punches. It is important not to get over-emotional after a result. We have games left we have to be better in."
Sunderland's young side has taken them a long way, and the club was sitting in a play-off places just a fortnight ago. But injuries have stripped them of key players, with star striker Ross Stewart and experienced midfielder Corry Evans both out for the remainder of the season with Achilles and cruciate ligament injuries respectively.
"We do have a young team, and we're asking a lot of young players," said Batth. "We have Joe [Gelhardt] up there on his own and we aren't blessed with options to change things.
"Who are we going to play a long ball to? We have to be better at what we are trying to do, that's the answer. It's part of the process to become a better team. When we lose a game we have to be disappointed and angry, but we have to realise where we are as a club and move on and improve.
"I didn't have any reservations about the group of players we have coming into this league, we just have to do better than we did on Saturday in our next game. Nobody wants to be part of a team that loses 5-1 at home, we have to pull together.
"It is important we trust everyone's ability. The foundation of hard work and determination, the fight you have in the Championship season. If we fall below that as a group then we have to look at ourselves and spur each other on.
"This is a talented team with all the ability in the world. We have to make sure the baseline of the hard work, the graft, the honesty, those things are there.
"In every season you get tested in this division, you will be tested in so many ways, every team and manager will have a team of analysts, watching games back, analysing, we saw that on Saturday.
"They were aggressive and locked on our midfield, stopped us getting on the half-turn and playing one-twos to get us forward. We have to be ready for that."
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