'Have to remember...': Sunderland captain has this message after first Championship defeat

Dan Neil says Sunderland will reflect on their disappointing defeat to Plymouth Argyle but insisted that is still an excellent start to the campaign from his side.

The team captain returned to the side on Saturday after suspension and says the dressing room have to use the disappointment as motivation ahead of Middlesbrough’s visit to the Stadium of Light this weekend.

“We're all disappointed in there with the result and the performance, especially the performance in the second half,” he said.

“But I think we have to reflect on this quickly and work out where we went wrong, but at the same time remember that if someone had offered us this (four wins from five) we'd have snapped their hand off for it. We're not just going to put it in the bin don’t get me wrong, we'll look at it and reflect on it. We've been trying to stay down to earth through the international break and through this week.

“No one wants to lose football matches but we just have to try and turn it into a blessing in disguise, we're all gutted in there but we don't have the unbeaten run over our shoulders know and it's a bit of a kick up the you know what. Middlesbrough is the perfect game to try and bounce back in, pretty much a full Stadium of Light. A full week's worth of preparation for it.. a chance to reflect on this game and then put it to bed and try and get back on track.”

Sunderland face Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, 12.30pm kick off.