Phil Smith's verdict: Inside Sunderland's troubling day of deja vu as Lee Johnson ponders 'million-dollar' question

He wasn't the only one.

It had been almost a year to the day exactly that, having been appointed Mansfield manager the day before, he popped into the dressing room pre-match and told his new players to have a go, not to sit back.

They outplayed Sunderland then, exposing fault lines that would lead to comprehensive change behind the scenes in just a month.

Now he insisted that this eerily similar FA Cup first round win was an even better result, given the progress that the Black Cats have made in the last year.

On the latter point few would disagree, even accounting for what has been a truly brutal week-and-a-half since QPR were beaten in the Carabao Cup.

The structure has improved, for much of the early part of the season the quality of football improved, and though there are issues in this current squad the recruitment has, for the main, improved.

All of which left Lee Johnson facing an all too familiar question. The 'million-dollar' question, as he put it. How has this cycle started again?

Sunderland insipid, uninspiring, exposed out of possession and unconvincing in it.

"This cycle has repeated too often," he said.

"We're in it now, and we have to turn the tide."

For all Clough had been complimentary about the project at Sunderland, the intent his side showed in the opening moments also made clear that they had acutely understood the issues they are facing at the moment.

He has, he pointed out, benefited in recent weeks from finally getting some key players available, after injuries and suspensions led to a poor start to the season.

But his gameplan, particularly through the first half, was excellent and mirrored one that he has often deployed with great success at the Stadium of Light.

A team packed with central midfielders played with energy, pressing aggressiely and immediately putting the pressure on Sunderland's distribution from the back.

It was baffling given what has happened in recent games that Sunderland did not seem prepare for it.

You cannot, as Johnson said, legislate for errors such as those that allowed Rhys Oates to finish from a matter of yards five minutes in, but they had already come close to being exposed twice before then.

The issue, again, was not playing out from the back.

Sunderland showed that has its merits fifteen minutes in, when a precise pass out to the channel opened up the visiting defence and led to a half chance for Leon Dajaku at the back post.

The issue was that too often they were passive, hesitant and indecisive.

Mansfield knew it, and though Nathan Bishop saved well from Nathan Broadhead's header they could and probably should have been further ahead at the break.

It was a woeful first-half showing.

Johnson made four substitutions at the break, and said afterwards that he had given serious consideration to making them just twenty minutes into the game.

He described the performance as a 'freeze'.

"We have to show more enthusiasm, identity, pride in what we're doing," he said.

"What does that look like? It looks like ball speed, when the ball goes out of play can we get it back in five seconds?

"Can we articulate and communicate what we want, not just in terms of our voices but non-verbal communication? The pointing, the double-runs, the little bits of eye contact.

"That's what you want. What you don't want is putting out like a numb-type player."

It was a strong rebuke, not just to those withdrawn at the break but the entire team who struggled in that first half.

But Johnson's remarks about not players not proving a point to him felt pointed given the six changes he had made, and were surprising given most felt Frederik Alves, for example, would have to be in consideration for the Ipswich Town game after recent results.

Sunderland did improve, just about, in the second half.

Johnson moved to match Clough's midfield diamond and the introduction of some of his key ball-players did at least mean there was some more forward intent on show.

After a challenging week, Callum Doyle to his credit tried to step up and get his team going, while in midfield Alex Pritchard tried to open up a defence that was seemingly beginning to tire.

Clough conceded that it was a 'long old second half', and said his side got the luck that has so often deserted them this season when Dan Neil's excellent half volley at the start of stoppage time struck the underside of the crossbar and bounced clear.

Johnson said he was 'OK' with watching his side fall short in this way. It had, he conceded, not been a great second half and no one would contest that. Sunderland had a couple of major openings and got into more dangerous areas, but Bishop was not tested anywhere near enough.

Clough said his side had given up three major opportunities, and that all things considered he would settle for that.

Johnson's point was at least there was at least a purpose in that half, even if the execution at times fell short.

Mansfield deserved their win, he said, and it will sting that so many of the problems he inherited eleven months ago have resurfaced.

The crucial question he has to answer over the next two weeks is why.

The head coach spoke of external issues that he feels is draining the player's confidence, making clear that in an ideal world none of his players would be on social media, for example.

An issue in the modern game, no doubt (and confidence has evidently ebbed away alarmingly), though it feels disappointing that debates around the 'magnitude' of the club and what infers are again top of the agenda as winter draws in.

One of the most promising aspects of the early weeks of the season was that Johnson's side, and the panache which they played, had shown once and for all that the Stadium of Light crowd is not an issue but a major asset in the push for promotion.

Sunderland's points return with and without their crowds tell that story.

Johnson firmly believes that, it should be said, and this was what disappointed him so much about the performance.

He has spoken before of the defeat at Burton Albion earlier this season, when his side played with intent and class but fell short. Many of his team enjoyed long applause and mutual appreciation with the supporters afterwards. There's a way to lose, and that was it.

This isn't.

One of his key criticisms of that first-half showing was it lacked anything to enthuse supporters, to create a buzz and a positive vibe after a tough period.

The issue right now isn't Sunderland's new playing philosophy, it's that so many of it's core tenets have been absent in too many recent performances.

It is hurting Johnson that he feels his side currently are no reflection of what he is trying to coach and bring out, making 'technical errors' and lacking charisma in games. A side that was regularly creating clear chances are currently labouring, and it is a major concern given that they have never been overly compact off the ball.

Johnson knows he is now facing a major challenge to turn that around.

We've seen this performance too many times before.

Deja vu, indeed.

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