Lee Johnson confronted by Sunderland fans following League One play-off semi-final loss to Lincoln City

The Black Cats went into the second leg of the semi-final 2-0 down after the first-leg at Sincil Bank.

First-half goals from Ross Stewart and Charlie Wyke evened the tie with the aggregate score level at 2-2.

But a disappointing second half saw Lincoln City score to cement The Imps’ place in the League One play-off final at Wembley and consign Sunderland to a fourth straight season in the third tier.

And after the game, Johnson was confronted by a small group of Sunderland fans as he exited the Stadium of Light, with footage of the exchange surfacing on Twitter.

Fans could be heard voicing their displeasure to Johnson, with supporters frustrated after another failed promotion attempt by the club.

Sunderland head coach Johnson had praised supporters post-match in his press conference for the atmosphere they generated, with 10,000 inside the Stadium of Light.

He said: “It’s a sad day because you do build a rapport with these players, but the club has also showed today the potential power we’ve got – the pressing game we played in the first half, the attitude from the fans to get our pressing game going.

"That as 10,000, I can’t wait to see what it’s like when there’s 42,000 in there. I thought the boys gave everything, and that’s obviously a minimum standard, and we played well on the day too,” added the Sunderland head coach.

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