Sunderland v Southampton

I went to the match in Saturday, and I thought us wait a few days for the relative euphoria to die down before giving an honest assessment of how I thought it went and what I think it means for the rest of the season.

The build up

I wasn't going to go. I'd looked at the idea earlier in the week and decided against it. Then in Friday night I started to think that perhaps I wouldn't have many opportunities to see us in the Premier League for a while and perhaps I should go. I looked on Stub Hub and there was a ticket for a good seat - 15 rows back, half way line opposite the dugouts - for only £13. I'll have it. Still slept in it and waited until Saturday morning to buy.

There were problems on the Metro so it seemed to take forever to get there, but there was a positive atmosphere in and around the stadium. Collected my ticket, bought a programme, had a wee, got a cup of tea and now I'm ready for the contest to begin.

Danny Graham is starting, Coated preferred to Vergini and Johnson back on the bench.

The match

Overall I think we were second best. I've watched us too many times this season where we stand off the opposition and give them time to pick a pass in our own half. The best defensive display I've seen this season is where we got into the faces of Chelsea - one of only two teams this season so far to have kept a clean sheet against them. I know it takes a lot of effort and concentration to produce a display like that week after week. And we probably need a bigger and deeper squad than we have to produce it. It worried me on Saturday 11 v 11 and even worried me after the sending off. It's all well and good having a set, structured "two lines of four" to prepare for the oncoming attack, but unless there is some pressure on the ball, this tactic will fail.

The effort levels looked much better than in previous games this season - and better than our rivals in black and white up the road.

Seb Larsson showed he's a class act and seems to care about the club. His effort and enthusiasm is contagious and he always seems to get the best out of his midfield colleagues. Danny Graham ran his heart out for the cause and was rewarded with a whack in the face, the penalty award and man of the match. The enigma that is Connor Whickham continues. If it wasn't for a fan about 10 rows to the right of me keeping him in check, he probably wouldn't have tracked Nathaniel Clyne back as much as he should. He can run with the ball and beat men regularly but when he gets to the edge of the box and needs to make a decision he falters.

The run-in

The question is "can we stay up?"

I think that the answer is "no." But I'm not worried. There seems to be a core of players at the club that don't care about the club and are only in it for the money. Relegation will, hopefully, clear these out of the club and we can start afresh, a little like the way Southampton have done.