Captain reacts as Sunderland suffer embarrassment of back-to-back relegations

None of the Sunderland players spoke to the press after the game, with O’Shea the only player to carry out an interview and that was to the club website.

O’Shea has been at Sunderland since 2011 and has been part of the team to suffer humiliating back-to-back relegations.

“It is horrible,” said O’Shea, out of contract this summer.

“You get into that situation and we can’t see it out and concede late on. Look, it wasn’t just Saturday but that summed up the season.

“It is horrible, it is not nice, for me personally having been at the club as long as I have it is not nice and hard to take.

“The last four or five games you give yourself a chance but we haven’t been winning enough. We’ve had a lot of draws. You are always playing catch-up.”

Sunderland were leading until the 86th minute through Paddy McNair’s goal but they couldn’t see the game out, throwing away more points for the fourth straight game.

O’Shea added: “You have to have the ugliness, grit and determination to see out the 1-0 win, which would have been crucial.

“During the second half, the fans, I sensed they really wanted to push us on, it was a tense game but you could hear the noise. I know the fans will stay loyal and support the club, as always.”