Phil Parkinson's selection at Gillingham was bewildering - but at least Sunderland can't get any more negative

It ended with: “Most supporters in the current woebegone circumstances would take any manner of victory, starting at Gillingham on Saturday.

“But when the bad results are stacking up anyway, wouldn’t Sunderland be better off trying to attack and entertain? It could hardly put them in worse form.”

There were some other words in between, but you get the gist of it. Well you’ll never guess what happened since.

Having failed to score in six of their previous seven away games in all competitions – and also registering zero shots on target in 120 minutes of “football” at Gillingham 18 days earlier – the solution was obvious.

Play more defensively.

What do I, or indeed a few tens of thousands of Sunderland supporters, know about football? Well we know that Sunderland lost without scoring: again.

Hoodathunkit? Five at the back seemed to make Sunderland even less attack minded. It blows your mind does that.

There were six changes to Sunderland’s starting XI. While everyone expected changes after a pitiful showing against Burton Albion, some of Saturday’s were frankly unaccountable, starting with the pointless swapping of goalkeepers.

Confined to the bench and destined to remain there were Duncan Watmore and Aiden McGeady. Serves them right for going forward.

Grant Leadbitter, yet to score since re-joining the club almost a year ago, was naturally retained, as was George Dobson, who has hit the net twice in his league career and, of course, goal machine Will Grigg.

An attacking midfielder, Chris Maguire, was eventually introduced. He failed to achieve anything in the 120 seconds he was given. Lazy. A third substitution was never made.

One of the perceived failings of Jack Ross was his negativity. It turns out he wasn’t negative enough apparently.

You can’t be too cautious when playing titans like Gillingham, who had themselves scored once in their previous three league games and have since rocketed up to 14th in League One.

It was, in a word, bewildering. What was the thinking behind the selection and formation at Priestfield? Answers on a postcard please.

I can’t lay claim to any special insight for saying that Sunderland should at least attempt to go on the front foot. It’s only what the world and his dog thinks too. Perhaps the world and his dog should have a go at picking the team.

We all have our suggestions and it should be said that whichever team is selected is hardly guaranteed to deliver victory and the players themselves aren’t instructed to play badly.

However, the only thing almost guaranteed in Sunderland’s next game is that it will be another poor one.

These are dark, dark, in fact the darkest ever days of SAFC. So a little entertainment wouldn’t go amiss and it isn’t as though boring football is bagging a load of points.

Let us hope that Saturday has expunged the idea of keeping it tight and hoping for the best, home or away, against anyone in this division. There is no opposition good enough to merit such an approach.

Somehow I don’t think Sunderland will be even more negative when they play Blackpool this weekend; although that may only be because it isn’t humanly possible.