Lee Cattermole pulled no punches in his post-match assessment of Sunderland’s 3-0 defeat at Barnsley.
A solid opening failed to bear fruit for the Black Cats and they found themselves two down at the break thanks to goals from Ike Ugbo and Harvey Barnes.
George Moncur completed the scoring in the second period as the Tykes pounced on the counter attack, but, in truth, Sunderland scarcely threatened Adam Davies’ goal after falling behind.
And speaking post-match, Cattermole admitted the team’s performance wasn't acceptable.
“It was very frustrating to concede against the run of play and we weren’t strong enough – physically or mentally – to cope with what Barnsley threw at us.
“For 20-30 minutes we were the better side and we should have punished them, but we didn’t have the quality to take the lead.”
He continued: “We lacked quality on the ball and we lacked discipline without it.
“I think there was a bit of weakness there [after the first goal] and people were perhaps feeling a little bit sorry for themselves, and suddenly the game was over despite being the better side.
“We had to keep doing what we’d been doing and play our way back into the game, but we couldn’t do that today.
“It is a massive wake up call for us."