Andrew Nelson hailed positivity as key as his team-mates look to bounce back following Sunday’s defeat to Premier League 2 leaders Everton.
David Unsworth’s side produced a sticky display to dismantle Sunderland with Harry Charsley’s first-half strike the only difference at full-time.
The Black Cats dug deep in the closing stages to create a number of well-worked openings, which saw Ethan Robson and Joel Asoro go close, but the Toffees clinched a sweet victory to maintain their lead at the top.
While Sunderland’s attentions now turn to Thursday’s Premier League International Cup showdown at Derby County, Nelson has talked up the positives from the match and urged his team-mates to dust themselves down quickly.
“The lads stuck at it 'til the end of the game,” he said.
“From the first minute to the last we were in it and even when we went a goal behind we still had a chance.
“On another day we possibly could’ve scored goals or at least drawn level but the lads did brilliantly to be fair to them.
“We’ve got another game against Derby on Thursday so there’s no time to rest,” he continued.
“That’s football though at this time of the year because games pop up all the time and we’ve got to make sure we are ready for the next challenge as soon as the last one is finished.
“It’s up to us now to make sure we are ready for it because we want to go down there and get a result.”
