Gus Poyet really isn't enjoying himself

Gus Poyet really isn't enjoying himself... Sunderland just aren't good enough going forward as boredom and frustration creeping in


PUBLISHED: 07:57 GMT, 15 December 2014 | UPDATED: 10:13 GMT, 15 December 2014

As Gus Poyet held court beside a Christmas tree inside the Stadium of Light, his mood was far from festive. For the first time, the Sunderland boss confessed that he was not enjoying himself.

Not only that, he admitted that perhaps he isn’t the man to bring about a change of fortune, even forecasting a campaign of boredom in the months ahead.

In short, Poyet is frustrated; frustrated with a side which lacks imagination and verve, frustrated that the club – led by sporting director Lee Congerton - have failed to provide him with players who can make the difference.

Gus Poyet was left frustrated with a meek Sunderland performance against West Ham United

‘I want to do better and I want people to feel better. I am not enjoying this,’ said the Uruguayan, whose side have now drawn 10 of their 16 matches this season.

‘I enjoy it when I win, but when I draw too many I don't enjoy it. Maybe the problem is me, it is my character. Maybe it is not possible. Maybe we will need to wait three years (before we start winning).

‘The easiest way to solve all these problems is to get a player who can make the difference on his own. We don’t have one at the moment. Unless someone wins player of the month like Connor Wickham and Adam Johnson did last season, it is going to be boring draws all the time.’

January, you feel, could be a make-or-break month for the disenchanted South American. He started with USA striker Jozy Altidore on Saturday, the £6.5million flop who had scored once in 41 Premier League appearances. Make that 42. He was guilty of a glaring miss when swiping at fresh air three yards from an open goal to extend his top-flight drought to one year and one week.

‘It could have changed the game,’ said Steven Fletcher, the man left out at Altidore’s expense. ‘But it happens to all of us – he’s got to forget about it quickly.’

Jozy Altidore missed an easy chance on Saturday and hasn't scored a league goal for a year

The score was 1-1 at the time, the outstanding Stewart Downing having cancelled out Jordi Gomez’s penalty, awarded when Johnson dived under minimal contact from James Tomkins.

Downing, unlike Poyet, is in a happy place right now. This was his third goal of the season – achieved thanks to a deflection off Gomez after taking aim from 20 yards – and prompted manager Sam Allardyce to reignite calls for his inclusion with England.

Allardyce was not best pleased with the England medical staff when they gave Downing an injection to get him through the first half of last month’s 3-1 win against Scotland.

But his poor showing that night should not preclude future involvement, says his boss.

‘He shouldn’t have played for England because he had been injected after getting a problem with his knee,’ he said. ‘It didn’t do him any favours as he wasn’t 100 per cent fit. I don’t think anyone should judge Stewie on what happened for 45 minutes against Scotland.


‘I think he should get the opportunity to go again and if he plays like he did (on Saturday) then there are not too many playing as well as Stewart Downing at the moment in the Premier League.’

The player himself believes he and the Hammers – currently in fourth – are headed for European football.

‘I haven’t enjoyed my football as much as this since I was at Aston Villa,’ he said. ‘It’s a very similar feel to Villa, the same sort of team - counter attacking with pace and power. There is a good dressing room where everyone chips in. You can see we’re playing with confidence.

‘Villa finished in the top six and if we keep playing the way we are, so can we. We’ve got a hell of a chance.’

Downing, then, is looking towards a bright future. For Poyet, the outlook is somewhat bleak.

 

I have a sneaky feeling if these draws turn into losses over the xmas period he might walk. I like him but hes an odd bloke

 

I'm convinced more than ever we're not playing for draws now. I trust Gus. He's honest, sometimes too honest. He made some comments before the West Ham game on how he wants games and now this. I'm with him 100%. I think we're limited in attack, shy of Giacc and Alvarez both hitting form quick then we desperately need to dig deep in Jan.

 

Well he's not filling me with confidence with comments like these and I imagine the players are no different. Saying that we don't have any players who can make a difference on their own surely isn't a very wise thing for morale, he's essentially saying all our attacking players are s**t. If it's tactical to get funds then that's something that should be discussed in private.

 

Hopefully he's just testing how much Short really wants him. A sort of back me or sack me stance.

 

Hope not, ES might take him at his word. Send for Pulis or McLaren then.

 

I like Gus but he needs to stop the moaning. Nobody forced him to play our most powerfull forward left midfield while a man who could not find the net in a Grimsby lock up groped around up top

 

Maybe he's hoping for another miracle.....

Pressure on ES and Congerton and the players to perform, but i'd rather this was kept in-house and he was less honest about this stuff.

 

Stewart Downing? He was nowhere near Cattermole and Larsson on Saturday - other than a lucky deflected goal and a shocking tackle from behind (which easily could've been a red card) I can't remember him doing a great deal.

I know we're not "playing to draw" AND Gus isn't saying what the article makes out - he's saying he's not enjoying all the draws. And none of us are enjoying the results. But, as I've said before, we were lower than low after Southampton and everyone saw us as an easy target - yet we've hardly lost since (omArsenal and Man City) and only the Manc clubs and Chelsea have lost less I believe which is saying something. Turn the draws into wins and we're fine. Draw every game until the end of the season and we'll stay up!! (No it's not a target just can;t see the clubs at the bottom getting that many points).

Edit:

The headline states "Gus Poyet is not enjoying himself" - however, Gus Poyet's actual words were "I don't enjoy it" when talking about the draws. He, at no point, stated that he wasn't enjoying the job which a[ppears to be the writers spin on it. More press playing with words IMO

 

What about Ally McCoist!

 

Be a management equivalent of Jozy Altidore IMO - OK in a tin pot league but no good down here

 

Can't beleive we're talking managerial replacements over subjective twisting from the media. The only text the matters is what Gus say's not what the paper says.

Where does he say that? He doesn't, he ponders into weather he's part of the problem, problems are there to be solved but it doesn't mean for one second he's questioning his future. Like most Managers I expect he'll look to solve the problems not walk away from them. He's not Kevin Keegan.

All this article tells me in regards to Gus is that he's frustrated with the draws. But aren't we all? It just the Press twisting to turn a non story into something that will sell them papers and get them website hits.

 

You have a point, what happened to Neil Lennon when he came down here?

Having said that, what happened when Ferguson came down here from Aberdeen, Man Utd weren't doing much better than we are right now!

 

hes giving them a kick up the backside, hes defended them all season, now its time for them to prove a point to him, themselves, and us

 

pick an all attacking side and see what happens then,i would imagine the majority of the also ran sides managers feel the same

 

Yeah but they don't really need a kick up the backside do they? They all seem to be putting a shift in, it's not like the baffling listless displays we've seen in the past. If anything Poyet needs to look at himself, playing counterattack with no fast players and one striker isn't really going to get the goals flying in.

We seem to be settled at the back now so maybe it's time to take a few risks in attack. Which is Poyet's call, nothing to do with personnel really.

 

i think they do. I think our attacking five need to grow some balls and commit more going forward. Nobody is taking responsibility when they should be queuing up to take it. Our work rate is cock on defensively. Offensively we look lazy and lethargic and uninspired imo.

 

wickham johnson and buckly are all fast players mate, depends how they're used. He can defend them to the hilt, but at the end of the day, players are the ones that get the results, managers can only do so much.

Poyet organises them, but he can't be on the pitch picking out the right pass, they have to do that themselves.

We miss Ki, thats the bottom line, someone who sits deep and can spot the run, we dont have that this year

 

He should be grateful he gets to the matches for free!