Lee Johnson makes blunt admission as Sunderland's pitch problems continue

The turf has been an increasing problem for the Black Cats, who were beaten 3-1 by Lincoln City on an almost flooded pitch in their first home game of the year.

Though dry this time around the pitch played little better in the 1-0 win over Portsmouth on Saturday afternoon, with both sides struggling to play out from the back as planned.

It ultimately transpired that the home side were the beneficiaries on the day, with Hayden Carter caught on the ball in the build-up to Elliot Embleton's winning goal.

But it is a major headache for Johnson, with conditions unlikely to improve until the weather begins to change.

As such, he has candidly admitted that his side are likely going to have to be prepared to be more direct in their play.

EXPLAINED: Sunderland's long-term pitch problem – and why it isn't easy to fix

"I can't play to the philosophy I want, it's as simple as that," Johnson said.

"But we can only control the controllables, and that means adapting.

"It's no excuse because we still have players who can play forward, so our challenge is to make a forward pass a quality pass and not just a hit-and-hope pass.

"We need to adapt until we can manage the pitch a bit better.

"We're doing our best, everyone is doing their best.

"Hopefully when the sun starts coming through and spring nears, hopefully it will continue to get better."

Sunderland's next home game is against Doncaster Rovers on February 5th.

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