Sunderland players must look within themselves to stop the rot, says interim boss

Sunderland's players must 'find something within themselves' to bring to an end the club's disastrous run of one win in eight games, according to interim head coach Mike Dodds.

The Black Cats' automatic promotion hopes are in tatters after a catastrophic start to 2022, with tonight's 2-1 embarrassment at Cheltenham the club's third successive defeat against modest opposition.

It came on the back of the 6-0 humbling at Bolton which made it one win in six games and cost head coach Lee Johnson his job, and since he went and Dodds was put in temporary charge the club has lost at home to basement side Doncaster Rovers and now at Cheltenham, another side in the lower reaches of League One.

Dodds admits that this slump cannot continue, after seeing his side squander a lead to lose at Whaddon Road.

"We tried to change the shape on Saturday [against Doncaster] which didn't work, today we tried to make changes to freshen it up, and for a while we looked better, more decisive, aggressive," said Dodds, who saw Alex Pritchard give his side the lead with a brilliant free-kick before the turnaround.

"But you can't concede those two goals.

"The reality is it's one win in eight now.

"I will take the responsibility for the last two results because I have been the captain of the ship for that time, but it was one win in six before that.

"So the players have got to find something within themselves, because this cannot continue.

"They've got to go to Wimbledon [on Saturday] and win, that's the harsh reality.

"In terms of the preparation, I can't knock the players.

"But it's one win in eight, so confidence is a huge issue here and they've got to find something within themselves.

"They can't feel sorry for themselves, they've got to go and