- that players were being sent-off, that own goals were conceded, that unexpected setbacks were occurring.
There have been plenty of ‘normal’ games in Sunderland’s recent revival but Saturday against Hull - Wes Brown sent off just three minutes into the game - was a throwback to those bad, old, early days at the helm.
Gus Poyet: “I don’t like games with massive accidents, and that’s for either side.
“I like a normal game of football - 11 versus 11 - two teams testing themselves to see who is the best.
“But this was unexpected - everything changed and the whole game was upside down - it wasn’t easy for us.
“We don’t expect to win every game or lose every game but if you give something away it’s difficult to recover and that was the case here.
“Before the game, the team was in as good a shape as I have seen all season,” he said.
“It just shows you cannot predict in football.
“Look at Liverpool v Arsenal this weekend - Liverpool 5 Arsenal 1 - could you have predicted that?