Moyes praises ‘fight’ of Sunderland players despite relegation

David Moyes found a chink of positivity in an otherwise miserable afternoon for Sunderland after praising the fight shown by his players against Bournemouth.

The Black Cats’ inevitable relegation from the Premier League was confirmed after Josh King’s late strike secured a 1-0 win at the Stadium of Light for the Cherries.

Sunderland have not won a league game since early February, a 4-0 victory at Crystal Palace, and rarely threatened the Bournemouth goal in Saturday’s encounter.

However, Moyes, who has suffered relegation for the first time as a manager, refused to criticise the performance of his players as their fate was sealed.

Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

“In this final part of the season we have played much better and we played well,” he said.

“But nobody is going to talk about the performance. I thought we played well against West Ham and Middlesbrough in midweek but we have not turned our opportunities into goals.

“The players were great, we had nine out and I have praised the ones who played because it was never going to be an easy day for the players.

“We had to stand up and I think the ones who played showed fight and were committed.”