Sunderland news: Chris Coleman sends warning to players after ending winless home run
SUNDERLAND boss Chris Coleman has warned his players not to get ahead of themselves after ending their home hoodoo.
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The Black Cats picked up their first win at the Stadium of Light in 364 days thanks to Josh Maja’s late strike against Fulham.
Coleman’s side are up to 21st in the Championship table and he is already targeting three points against relegation rivals Birmingham next Saturday (3pm).
“From my point of view it is only three points,” he said. “It’s a small win for us, a small game, and it is a positive day but I’m not getting carried away with it.
“It’s a great three points but I know what’s ahead.
“The next game is at home against Birmingham. What we can’t do is think that everything is alright now because we have won at home.
“Next week is even bigger than this week because it’s a team in and around us, and we have to build on what we have already done.
“We have to get the job done next week, and I don’t care how we do it.
“We have a gameplan and we will stick to that - whether it is pretty or not is another thing.
“We have to go into next week with the same appetite and a little bit of fear - a little bit of fear is good for you - and we need to perform again.
“I know everyone is thinking ‘great, we’ve won a game at home’, but we have to make sure we build on that.
“There will be tough preparation this week for a hard game next week.”
From my point of view it is only three points
Sunderland have picked up nine points from five games since appointing Coleman and he is pleased with his side’s progress.
“We wanted to win the game, but I’m sure Fulham felt the same,” he said.
“They will have looked at our record, and if they scored first they would have thought they could have gone on to win the game.
“But I thought we had the better chances, the more clear-cut chances, even though they had the better play and the lion’s share of possession.
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“Three clean sheets in [his first] five games is a good start, it is something to build on.
“We had a good performance away at Aston Villa and we had something like 60 per cent possession in that game but we lost 2-1.
“Burton, it was 50-50 and we won the game.
“With ten men here against Reading, we fell flat on our face.
“So to go to Wolves and again be down to ten men and come away with a draw and a clean sheet was good, and we have done something similar here today with 11 men and winning the game.”
