'There is a mentality issue' at Sunderland, claims head coach Mike Dodds

Fair to say that the Sunderland first half performance against Swansea has really irritated interim head coach Mike Dodds.

Sunderland were so poor in the first half against Swansea because of a 'mentality issue,' not a technical or tactical one, according to head coach Mike Dodds. 

The Black Cats put in arguably their worst 45 minutes of the season in the first half, going in at the break two goals down. 

It could, and probably should, have been five or six in all honesty, and it has forced Dodds to confront an uncomfortable question. 

Player Ratings as Sunderland sink to third straight defeat against Swansea

"It was really disappointing if we're being brutally honest," Dodds told safc.com. 

"The ironic thing with it is first half we wanted to be kind of really bold and aggressive in terms of our approach, and that probably hindered us a little bit in terms of how open we are. 

"Second half, we made one or two changes and went a little bit more reserved in terms of our set up, but it looked more aggressive. 

"So the question I posed to the players then, you know, what was the difference? 

"I think sometimes we can talk around tactics and we can talk around technical stuff, but there's a mentality issue. "We'll pick the bones out of that.

"That's something that isn't levelled at the group very, very often but we've got a full week to work with them ahead of next week. 

'Nowhere near acceptable' - Mike Dodds blasts Sunderland first half showing in Swansea defeat

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