In the case of Roy Keane, generally he calls it exactly as you would expect.

On occasion, he'll dress up a defeat or draw more than you would have thought.

But every now and again you can be exasperated by an awful display and the manager will put your anger into perspective by going far further in his criticism than you ever would.

The latter was the case in regards to this game and Sunderland's players should beware strong words softly spoken to the Press afterwards.

For Keane left no journalist in any doubt with his criticisms – featured in full elsewhere in these pages – that not only was the shambolic display unacceptable but that certain players could have paid for it with their jobs at Sunderland Football Club.

It was hard to argue with him on a day in which so many Sunderland players let themselves down so badly.

Nor could watching chairman Niall Quinn have been impressed with his side's defeat to a hard-working but limited Bolton side; a defeat which dropped Sunderland from 13th to 15th and potentially cost the club's transfer kitty the thick end of £1.5million.

After such a heart-warming display in the victory over Middlesbrough last week which confirmed Premier League safety, Sunderland produced a perforamance against Bolton which was even worse than their no-show at Newcastle.

Keane made only one change – fit-again Jonny Evans returning at the expense of Carlos Edwards – but that required a real reshuffle.

Evans' inclusion at centre-half saw Nyron Nosworthy going to right-back, which allowed Dean Whitehead to return to central midfield.

And if there was to be a criticism of the manager's selection it might be that he was too soft-hearted in trying to include all three centre-halves in the side.

Danny Higginbotham had been excellent against Boro and did not deserve to be dropped, but Keane was naturally eager to get the outstanding Evans back in the side and shifted Nosworthy to full-back, where he proved a real disappointment.

Maybe Keane should have been more ruthless and left a centre-half out in order to keep the dependable Whitehead filling a position where he'd been outstanding in the previous game.

If sentiment had come into it from the manager's point of view, it is unlikely it will do so again, for this was a game in which too many players were given chances and too many were squandered.

And yet, unconvincing though the defence was going forward, it wasn't too bad when it was put on the back foot.

The real area where Sunderland lost the game was midfield.

Kieran Richardson, who has argued for a central midfield position all season, was given it at Bolton and promptly disappeared down the same rabbit-hole that fellow midfielder Liam Miller did.

Neither made any real contribution and while Whitehead was below par in his passing, Andy Reid had his worst game for Sunderland since his arrival.

Michael Chopra buzzed around to little effect, while Kenwyne Jones got neither the service nor the support which might have brought the best out in him.

Bolton, needing to win to pretty much rubber-stamp their Premier League safety for another year, got off to a bright start, putting pressure on the Sunderland goal without forcing a save in the opening few minutes.

The hosts went on to completely dominate the opening quarter-of-an-hour without ever getting a sight of the visitors' goal, though Sunderland certainly knew they were in a game with Whitehead and Evans suffering from bone-crunching tackles – Evans in particular did well to continue.

The first real chance did not come until the 28th minute when El Hadji Diouf found space against left-back Danny Collins and curled a cross to the far post which the irrepressible Kevin Davies headed inches over Craig Gordon's crossbar from the edge of the six-yard box.

Sunderland's reply was almost instant with Kenwyne Jones jinking his way inside the Wanderers area from the left before striking a low, right-foot effort which keeper Ali Al Habsi saved low at his near post.

Sunderland had Evans in commanding form at the back, despite his early knock, and he was needed to stifle the powerhouse Davies and organise his defence as Wanderers kicked and fought their way continually towards to the visitors' box.

Five minutes from the break, Sunderland twice threatened – Whitehead having a left-foot shot charged down and then Jones narrowly failing to get on the end of Reid's cross into the box.

But when Bolton took the lead in the 42nd minute – no-one could say it hadn't been coming, so many challenges had Sunderland lost; so needlessly and regularly had they squandered possession.

The goal was created by skipper Kevin Nolan, who took advantage of space on the right of goal to cross to the far post where Diouf had pulled away from the AWOL Nosworthy and the Senegalese – who had scored against Sunderland when the two teams met in December – clinically lifted a shot from a narrow angle through Gordon and into the keeper's top left-hand corner.

Keane made no changes at the break and Sunderland started the second half as anonymously as they'd played most of the first, only getting going in the 53rd minute when Chopra wriggled a shooting chance from the edge of the box which Al Habsi dealt with comfortably.

Far more threatening was Bolton's immediate response, Matt Taylor getting the better of Whitehead on the Bolton left, after losing possession to the full-back, before whipping a cross to the back post where Diouf's effort cannoned off the post, against Collins and out for a corner.

Sunderland were getting a little more joy going forward now and Richardson's deflected shot won them a 56th-minute corner from which Chopra headed over the bar.

But Keane's discontent with his misfiring team manifested itself just after the hour when he made a triple substitution – Chopra, Miller and Nosworthy off; Roy O'Donovan, Grant Leadbitter and Daryl Murphy on.

Murphy went up front with Jones, O'Donovan to the right wing and Leadbitter in central midfield, with Whitehead now filling in at right-back.

And Sunderland improved.

The pendulum slowly started to swing the Wearsiders' way and, after a spell of domination, the visitors should have equalised in the 70th minute when Reid curled a ball from left to right, O'Donovan headed the ball back across goal and Jones somehow failed to connect with the ball, missing an open goal from five yards out.

Ex-Black Cat Gavin McCann was booked a minute later for a foul as Bolton battled to regain control, but Reid's free-kick into the box curled into Al Habsi's arms.

Bolton had a great chance to double their lead in the 73rd minute when, from a throw-in on the left, Gary Cahill flicked on a header to Diouf, but he nodded it wide of Gordon's right post.

Bolton, seeking safety, were determined to give it everything and with no-one from Sunderland able to fully get a grip on the game, Wanderers were able to exert the pressure from which they clinched their second goal and, effectively, the game.

They gained a corner from the right in the 82nd minute and a terrific ball in from Nolan saw Daryl Murphy – Sunderland's goal hero the previous week – with a glancing near post-header; become the villain this time with a glancing near-post header through his own goal.

Reid might have cleared it, for he was perfectly positioned when the ball came to him at the far post, but he had stepped a yard inside the goal when he made contact.

Victory cost Sunderland both in terms of points and positions.
But with Keane so understandably angry at the final whistle, it might also have cost players in terms of their places.