Sunderland fell to a 5-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest on Friday night

Granit Xhaka urged his Sunderland team mates to react after their heavy defeat to Nottingham Forest on Friday night.

The Black Cats found themselves 4-0 down at half time after a woeful first half, with Elliot Anderson completing the rout in stoppage time. Xhaka apologised to the fans after the game and said the team need to 'look in the mirror' this week ahead of their return to Premier League action against Wolves.

"It's very tough, it's difficult to find the right words now and the only word I can say is just to apologise to the fans," Xhaka said.

"What they saw today is not the team they saw all season. It is part of our journey, part of how we can improve as a team, individually as well as a collective. Hopefully this will not happen again.

"We have to reflect and look in the mirror, to analyse and say that was not good enough, and to remember where we've come from. It's painful, we need to come back stronger and give the fans what we have given them all season. We have to react.

"The goals we've conceded today are too easy. We haven't done the basics right and if you don't do that in this league, you get punished. We got punished so quick in that first half and at 4-0, you need a lot of luck and things to come back. We tried but it was not enough today.

“The season is a marathon, not a sprint.

"Of course, we’ve had a very good season so far, but we always knew it would be a journey. There will be ups and downs, no doubt, but it’s about how we react now.”

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RLB on Sunderland’s heavy defeat to Nottingham Forest

Le Bris said: “It hurts, it's painful, and it's a strong reminder about the level of the league, how demanding it is, and when we are not at the level expected, you get punished really quickly, because they have good players, they are well organised, they press well, they were really efficient on set pieces, and finally they killed us.

“We had this conversation at half-time, they were well organised to press us, they were good, and we tried to play under pressure, probably with a bit of naivety, because it wasn't possible. So the game was really open, and we conceded fouls, and gave the opportunity to attack the box.Forest played with a high level of intensity, showed 'we want to win', it was a must-win for them. It wasn't the case for us, it's clear, because we were not intense enough in duels, not clean with the ball, making the right decisions under pressure, and the difference was big, and it's just a consequence. So I repeat, it's a strong reminder, we did well before, but today it wasn't the case.”

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