Following his teams fourth consecutive home draw, Sunderland manager Steve Bruce laid into his side saying that there were ‘no excuses’ for the continued run without a win.

The goalless draw at the Stadium of Light against Roy Hodgson’s Fulham left the Black Cats still searching for their first win since November in the Premier League. Bruce was unhappy and felt sorry for the 40,000 plus fans who sat through a miserable Sunday afternoon performance on Wearside. "The simple truth is we didn't give them enough. We huffed and puffed but lacked any real confidence and we are shorn of that at the moment" said the former Wigan boss. "The crowd were terrific and we must learn quickly to handle the demands there are here" he went on. "We do that by taking the ball into areas where we should be taking it, and today we resorted to lumping it up the pitch.”

Another individual to be disappointed on Wearside is striker Darren Bent whose 16 league goals have still not been enough to bring to the forefront of England boss Fabio Capello’s summer plans. With Wayne Rooney and Jermain Defoe certainties barring injury, and Emile Heskey and Peter Crouch regulars in the squad, the berth for the fifth striking position looks the only one available but with Carlton Cole and Bobby Zamora apparently ahead of Bent in the running, he may not have to put his summer holiday plans on hold.