One win from 14 games had put Sunderland manager Simon Grayson under enormous pressure ahead of a crucial clash with Bolton Wanderers at the Stadium of Light.
After what had been a reasonable start to the season, Sunderland appeared to have fallen back into their old ways, with a lack of drive and determination on the pitch matched by growing apathy amongst an increasingly fed-up fanbase off it.
Ahead of their eighth attempt to secure a home victory, Grayson discussed his future with the media and
expressed confidence that his side could turn things around, insisting that he still trusted the players at his disposal.
The upcoming games against Bolton and Middlesbrough had already been described as ‘make or break’ by Sunderland midfielder Jonny Williams, and there was certainly a growing feeling that it could be the latter for Grayson if he failed to secure victory against the Trotters.
Despite a willingness from the boardroom to give Grayson time and the apparent backing of his players, the end appeared to be drawing closer as performances continued to fall well below expectations.
Of course it is (toughest spell). I’ve been through stages where I’ve lost games but I think the magnitude of this football club and the size of it makes it even more difficult.
And what’s gone off previously, where at other clubs you lose matches but you haven’t got other factors that contribute to the criticism you’re getting. But I’m too long in the tooth to worry about criticism. I accept it, of course I do, but I’m a fighter and I keep fighting.
Grayson went on to discuss his players, insisting that they were still fighting for the shirt and urging them to take the game to Bolton in an effort to get the supporters onside from the outset.
Ultimately I’m looking for a reaction and a desire to have a go again and not feel sorry for themselves. I need them to go out there and be pro-active, don’t wait for something negative to happen.
Let’s be on the front foot and have a go. That’s all the supporters want us to do. They want to see players running around, putting balls in the box and having a right go. That’s not been there for the supporters against Bristol City.
I think they’re a genuine bunch (of players) who do care about it but individually they’ve got contracts like at any football club where they’ll be here for that length of contract.
But I do genuinely believe they’re an honest bunch of players that have been affected by results. That can change quickly and you will see a different approach from them then.
Unfortunately for Grayson, his words would prove to be little more than false hope as Sunderland once again failed to deliver the victory their beleaguered manager so desperately needed.
In a chaotic encounter at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland recovered from falling behind to take a 2-1 lead, only for their familiar defensive frailties to resurface as Phil Parkinson’s Bolton turned the game on its head. Paddy McNair eventually rescued a point in a thrilling 3-3 draw, but it was nowhere near enough to satisfy an increasingly frustrated home crowd.
The result proved to be the final straw for the Sunderland hierarchy, who announced Grayson’s dismissal just 17 minutes after the final whistle. Having arrived in the summer tasked with rebuilding a club still reeling from relegation, the former Preston manager lasted just 18 league games before becoming the latest casualty of Sunderland’s seemingly endless decline.
Perhaps the saddest aspect of Grayson’s departure was that his assessment of the problems facing Sunderland was not entirely wrong. The club was desperately in need of stability, direction and a change in mentality, but those issues extended far beyond the man standing in the dugout.
For Grayson, his fighting talk before the Bolton game ultimately counted for little. For Sunderland, it was another managerial departure in a period of extraordinary turmoil, and with the club heading towards a second successive relegation, the worst was still to come.
