Simon Grayson was quick to draw on the positives from Sunderland’s display after they let a two-goal lead slip against Hibernian on Sunday.
Wahbi Khazri and Josh Maja grabbed the headlines in the first half with a silky-smooth showing which saw the Tunisian volley the Lads in front before half-time.
Jeremain Lens entered the fray after the break and quickly doubled the Sunderland’s lead to force home their dominance.
But Hibernian were spirited and fought their way back through Martin Boyle who finished well to get the home fans off their seats.
And the noise that was generated from Boyle’s goal inspired a comeback which was rounded off by Simon Murray who tapped home to earn a draw for Neil Lennon’s side.
Speaking post-match, Grayson delivered his honest assessment.
“For 60-70 minutes I thought we were very good. We had a good tempo with the ball and looked solid without it, and we’ve been working on certain things and asking the players to do what we’re trying to implement.
“I thought they carried that out well and we scored two good goals, but in the last 25 minutes or so we didn’t play with that tempo and we gave it away cheaply.”
He continued: “But it’s another 45 minutes for the players which is important and it was nice to see some of our international players out on show, and I was pleased with some of the younger players as well.
“We didn’t get back to the north east until 3am on Saturday due to roadworks – I’m sure it was the same for some of our supporters as well – and we were in yesterday, but I won’t use that [tiredness] as an excuse because it was only 45 minutes.
“It’s about getting into good habits and I think we showed a lot of good habits in the first hour playing how I’d like to play, but I still think there is a lot of work to be done.”