'It'll take time': Sunderland boss Mel Reay on why the future is bright despite recent frustration

It's little consolation right now, after another week in which hugely controversial refereeing decisions led to a frustrating defeat.

Sunderland had been holding their own against league leaders Liverpool a fortnight ago before Neve Herron was shown a dubious red card, and last week a well-earned lead looked to have been won against Crystal Palace.

Maria Farrugia's strike was incorrectly ruled to be offside, and the Black Cats ultimately fell to a 1-0 defeat.

The importance of ending a sequence of eight league games without a win is obvious, with Sunderland well placed to achieve their core objective of securing their position at the level for next season but not quite there yet.

Sunderland need to be more ruthless in front of goal, but Reay is also keen to stress the importance of the improvements in the team's general play, which bodes well with such a young group in their first season in the second tier.

"We've spoken about, it's well-documented that we're not happy with some of the decisions we've had but ultimately, we're not talking about them if we put the ball in the back of the net," Reay said.

"We can only control what we can.

"Maria's goal is offside, it's disappointing because it's cost us in a game that we deserved something from. It hurts, but we just have to keep grinding on and we'll get our rewards before the end of the season, and the players will be better for it next season as well.

"The important thing is the players aren't down and out, they're not down and out.

"It's a young team that's growing, and from pre-season to now they've learned so much.

"We're just in our infancy, some of these other teams are seven, eight years in the making.

"It'll take time, it's not going to be perfect straight away, and they're having to learn the hard way at the moment.

"But in two, three years time, they're going to be so much better for it."

Sunderland will be boosted by the return of Herron when they face Charlton Athletic at Eppleton on Sunday (2pm kick off), with their opponents having not lost in the league since October.

That was against the Black Cats, though, and Reay hopes that extra focus on the final third will pay off for her side.

"I was really pleased with how we started, to be honest," Reay said.

"We created chances, looked good in possession, just lacked that little bit of detail inside the box. We need to be better at that, and we're learning the hard way that the performances don't get you any points.

"This week we've put a big focus on that final third, while not forgetting the other parts of the game.

"It's good that we're creating these opportunities, we just need to be a little more ruthless when we're in there. The level we're at now, you get punished if you don't take your chances.

"We're a young team learning quickly, and we'll keep going."

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