MICHAEL BEALE is no stranger to coming under pressure as a manager.
Whilst at Rangers his team was booed off the park on several occasions and supporter resentment towards him eventually cost him his job.
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Within a couple of months he was back in the dugout however but once again he’s having to deal with some intense criticism from fans.
Beale lost his first game in charge 3-0 at home to Coventry but appeared to be steadying the ship with wins over Hull and Preston either side of a 1-1 draw with Roherham.
But a humiliating 3-0 defeat to arch rivals Newcastle in the FA Cup has led to another downturn in results.
The Black Cats lost 2-1 to an Ipswich Town side that was looking like it was faltering at the time and then reversed the points with Hull, losing 1-0 at the Stadium of Light last Friday and consequently dropping below the Tigers in the race for promotion.
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Sunderland are now tenth in the Championship table but remain within touching distance of the play-offs, just three points off sixth-placed Coventry.
Beale alluded to “anxiety” amongst the fans and that certain sections of the support weren’t keen on him before he’d even started his reign.
He’s now backing himself and his players to answer the doubters.
The 43-year-old Londoner said: “Listen, we’ve just lost two games, two close games, so on the back of that there’s obviously anxiety in the fan base because we want to do well.
“We’re in a similar position to when I took over, so there’s still a lot to play for. I think some people weren’t happy when I arrived before I even started playing a game. We have to just play the next games in front of us.
“I’m delighted with the way the players are working behind the scenes, the togetherness of the group and stuff like that. I just have to keep working with the players and if the results go the way it will change some people’s opinion, but [for] some people it may never [change], so I have to face that as a fact really.
“Listen, if we win that game [against Stoke], I think we’ll go back just outside the playoffs on goal difference.”
He then doubled down on his stance and continued on an astonishing rant whereby he sarcastically referenced a “huge crisis” at the club and insisted he would ignore what he called noise from the outside.
“So it’s a huge crisis at this football club,” he said.
“I mean, the youngest team in the league, we haven’t got the biggest budget. We’re sat where we are, three points outside the playoffs with a home game coming up.
“I’m a little bit perplexed and bemused by the outside thing.
“The change was made by the club. We’d won two in nine when the change was made. In the next nine league games, the teams won four.
“So for me, that is an ongoing issue that we’re not scoring enough goals.
“We’re scoring a goal per game in the last 18 or 19. And we need to try and rectify that.
“We need all the support from the outside and the focus needs to stay on the team, I think.
“It was only a couple of games ago that we were three unbeaten, and the last two games in particular in the league have been very harsh on us, I feel. They were two really close games.
“We had more possession than Ipswich at their stadium. We had considerably more than Hull at our stadium. So to come out of both games losing the set plays are disappointing.
“We’d like the team to play better in the final third, a little bit quicker, play forward quicker, run forward as well. They’re the things we’re working on.
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“But in terms of what the players in-house are giving me, I’m absolutely delighted in their work ethic every day.
“Like you say, everyone’s aware of the noise in the background, but all we can focus on is the next game.”
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