Sunderland man reveals why Michael Beale's side didn't 'bite' against Hull City

Trai Hume has revealed that Sunderland deliberately didn't 'bite' when Hull City had the ball during their Boxing Day clash in the Championship.

Beale's side bounced back from a disappointing 3-0 defeat against Coventry City last weekend to keep a clean sheet and win against play-off rivals Hull City following Jack Clarke's late strike.

“You know, the weekend was tough on us, they probably had three chances in the game and scored three goals," Hume said after the Hull City game. "We created a lot chances and didn’t score. We spoke about it after the game and said that we weren’t good enough in both boxes in the game. To come out today with a clean sheet and a goal and three points is deserved.

“We had to reflect on the game [Coventry] because we did a few things wrong but we also did a few things right in creating a lot of chances. Today, Hull were a good side and they play good football so we had to be a wee bit more organised and sit a wee bit deeper and I thought we did that well today.

“They come out at home and they want to win the game. We’re coming away and we have to win the game as well. It was a tough game at times, a basketball game at times. We were well organised and getting the three points was deserved."

Sunderland noticeably sat off Hull City, particularly in the first half, with Beale's side opting not to press the ball high up the field.

“They were waiting for our front players to jump so they could pop it around us and then play forward and get our midfielders out of possession so we had to be patient to keep possession and not bite when they had the ball," Hume added. "We did that well. That comes from organisation. 

“We spoke about it before the game about the two stickers sitting on the midfield players so they couldn’t get the ball. It was a bit slow in the first half but they didn’t have many chances.”