Not the result that we wanted, but the fact is we are not far off getting a result or two that will change the season.

I am not going to try and dress this up as something it is not, however some of the comments I heard as walked away from St Mary's verged on the farcical with some even ranting that Claude Puel should be sacked.

As a performance this was very methodical, but it lacked that final spark that would have turned this into a win.

The possession was 64% and that cannot be knocked, the number of shots was reasonable 16 with 7 on target, but there was still something missing and it is vital that we find that spark.

The truth is that many are not giving Claude Puel a fair chance and are willing to write him off after only 3 games and that is not reasonable.

It is not about the number of players who have gone it is about the players who are here and we dominated this game, as we did the Watford one, but we can't seem to score add that to lapses at the back and that has led to our poor start.

It is not about the formation, it is not about tactics, it is purely about finding our form and if and when we do that, I think that we may surprise a few people.

Of course some of our supporters will blame the usual suspects, but as a team we worked hard and did not give up even when we conceded that late penalty.

Jose Fonte might be staying, but he didn't look happy about it and it was a stupid tackle that gave away the penalty, Fonte's body language as he sat there was not a pleasant sight, it reeked of arrogance and my hope is that his success in Euro 2016 has not gone to his head.

I would also hope that Jay Rodriguez is not shipped off to West Brom on loan, although his goal had an element of luck with the keeper letting it slip under him, not enough credit has been given to J Rod whose dipping shot made it harder than it looked to stop.

The good thing though is that we did not give up and rescued a point, that shows that we still have the spirit in the squad, like last season's poor start the issue is about lapses in concentration that cost us goals, apart from a brief period in the first half when we gifted them a couple of free attempts on goal that they missed, Sunderland did not have a shot on target that troubled Fraser Forster.

Some good individual performances, Steven Davis kept the midfield ticking and put in his usual workmanlike display, Matt Targett made some vital tackles, Hojbjerg again impressed, in fact I don't think anyone individually put in a poor performance, but something as a team was not quite right, find that spark and things will change.

Now though we have to push through a couple of signings and start to make our own luck, this is not the time to barrack the manager and the team, it is the time to get behind it and help it get through a tough period.

I can understand people's frustrations, but the truth is I would understand them more if this was March and we were in the bottom half of the table, but we are three games in and a football season is over 38 not 3.

Photo: Action Images

TeamCortese added 05:18 - Aug 29 AmericaSaint: It's not an even playing field for us because our owner doesn't put in any real significant money for the club to challenge. That's why Poch and Cortese left!
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BoondockSaint added 13:44 - Aug 29 Must disagree with you Saintpots In League One there was great spirit amongst the supporters because they reflected the spirit of the team at that time: a drive to build a team to climb the table: Need goals? Swoop for RIckie Lambert, the top scorer in the league! Other teams inquire about buying your players? Ignore them! Sadly it seems the spirit of the board has changed, not the passion of the fans who are now frustrated.

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aceofthebase added 14:22 - Aug 29 A couple of different points. First Kone nearly, and should have, scored with his header in the first half. Standing motionless by his side was little Cedic. Second whenever Sunderland took a corner all of our players were in the penalty area defending. There was no 'out' ball to be played if we intercepted the corner. Why can't we put little Cedic on the centre line and that would tie up one or perhaps two players crowding our penalty area.

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