'It’s not good enough': Alex Pritchard makes honest admission after Sunderland's draw with 10-man Shrewsbury

The 28-year-old scored his first goal for the club, following his move from Huddersfield in the summer, when opened the scoring with a fine strike in the 16th minute.

Shrewsbury were then reduced to 10 men when David Davis was sent off for a late challenge on Nathan Broadhead before half-time, yet Sunderland failed to make their man advantage count.

Dainel Udoh's equaliser midway through the second half was a reward for Shrewsbury’s tenacity and spirit, yet Pritchard knows his side should have been out of sight.

"It was nice to get off the mark and getting the first goal of the game but at the end of the day we have come away very, very, very disappointed and it does feel like a defeat,” he admitted.

“I think going 1-0 up you kind of smelt blood, especially with them going down to 10 men. It’s kind of ‘come on let’s take it to them.’

“1-0 is always a dodgy scoreline but at the end of the day it’s not good enough really. With for the majority of the game them being down to 10 men and being 1-0 up, it’s bitter to take.”

While the result clearly stung, Sunderland must pick themselves up quickly as they prepare to face Cambridge this weekend.

The Black Cats remain sixth in the League One table and do have games in hand on most of the teams above them, yet clearly performances need to improve.

“Look I’ve had some real bad results throughout my career and you do have to put it to bed very quickly, move on and forget about it,” added Pritchard.

“You need to look at what you can improve on and what was good, but there was plenty more we can improve on as a team.

"We will go over the video and train hard as we have done and we’ll go to Cambridge looking for three points.”

Pritchard was deployed on the left against Shrewsbury and demonstrated his quality by cutting in from the flank to score.

Sunderland will need more moments like that as they look to regain some momentum following a difficult spell.

“I play wherever I’m asked,” replied Pritchard when asked about his position.

"Throughout my career I have played on the left and I do like it out there because I can come in on my right and I can go down the side.

“At the end of the day it’s not about me, it’s about a collective as a team and we have one job to do this year.

“I try and stay positive, we haven’t lost but it does feel like a defeat and everyone will see it like that, and I do as well.

“We have to get back on the training ground and we have a big game at the weekend, luckily it comes thick and fast and hopefully we can get back to winning ways.”

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