3 things we clearly learnt about Sunderland after their 2-1 defeat to Doncaster

Sunderland were left disappointed as they lost 2-1 to Doncaster Rovers in front of 36,000 at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

It was a poor game for Sunderland in front of their biggest home crowd of the season as they were beaten 2-1 by strugglers Doncaster.

Eyebrows were raised before the game when interim manager Mike Dodds didn’t ring the changes after last weekend’s 6-0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers, leaving many fans perplexed.

Dodds also opted against starting new signing Jermaine Defoe after the striker arrived from Rangers earlier in the week.

Sunderland looked short of ideas in the first half as Rovers debutant Reo Griffiths put Gary McSheffrey’s side in front before Tommy Rowe made it two just before half time.

Corry Evan’s pulled a goal back in the 89th minute but it proved too late for Sunderland and the game eventually ended 2-1 to South Yorkshire side.

It’s a damaging defeat for Sunderland who, based on the chances created in this game should have won. It wasn’t to be and it puts a major dent in their push for promotion.

With that in mind, we looked at three things we learnt about Sunderland after this defeat.

The next appointment is huge

This seems obvious but it feels like Sunderland’s season is teetering on the edge.

It really could be make or break for the Black Cats as fans are getting frustrated once again at the lack of progress on the pitch. No matter how impressive or well things have moved on behind the scenes, fans want to see that replicate on the pitch.

Under Lee Johnson, performances could erratic which ultimately led to his departure but it remains obvious that the next manager coming into the club not only has a huge task of turning results round on the pitch, but convincing supporters to