Mike Dodds delivers brutally honest verdict on Sunderland draw but singles one player out for praise

Mike Dodds admitted that Sunderland's performance against QPR was their most disappointing since he took over as interim head coach, but praised Anthony Patterson for his role in putting an end to the club's losing run.

QPR looked set to snatch three points from a poor game when Sinclair Armstrong set Chris Willock up for a big late chance at the Stadium of Light, but Patterson did superbly to get across goal and make a reflex save. Patterson had also made a big save to deny Lucas Andersen in the first half to keep the scores level.

While the clean sheet helped stop Sunderland's alarming run of results, Dodds said he could not shy away from the disappointment of the performance. Sunderland failed to register a single shot on target throughout the game and though Dodds said his injury-hit squad were giving everything, he added that both he and the players and himself had to offer more.

"The performance I was really disappointed with, both first and second half," Dodds said.

"We huffed and puffed but showed no real quality in the game, that's not just in the top half of the pitch, I thought particularly with our build we were slow and ponderous. I've got to keep working with them, they're a group that needs help and a large part of that responsibility is myself.

"I think you will naturally get some help when you get some bodies back but I thought that was a really naive performance, I think in the last four games I've probably tried to look at pockets of the game that I really liked - there wasn't a lot that I liked about that game. We're going to have some bodies back for the Easter weekend which everyone can see will be a huge boost to the group. I can't criticise the effort, they are giving everything, but at the moment we're short and I can't flower that up."

Patterson's efforts underlined his promise and Dodds said it was a vindication of the club's faith in the 23-year-old.

"I don't take any satisfaction when the goalkeeper keeps you in the game because it tells you that there's a chain of events leading up to that point that you can either stop or make better decisions," Dodds said.

"On the flip side, I've got to praise Patta because it's an unbelievable save at the end. He hasn't had a great deal to do in the game and I think that's the sign of a top goalie when you make big saves in that situation. I know he's had some criticism this season but I think that save justifies our belief that he's one of the best goalkeepers in the division."

Dodds also praised Dan Ballard for playing despite having not trained this week with a hamstring problem.

"He's a great kid who enjoys playing for the club, a potential Northern Ireland captain. He's one of the best centre halves in the division and he's shown his character in terms of getting out there for us today."