Neither John O’Shea nor David Moyes had been relegated during their long careers in football.
That changed Saturday.
The former Manchester United defender and Everton manager saw Sunderland drop into the second tier after a bevy of wasted chances and a lapse at the back perfectly summed up their season in England.
[ RECAP: Sunderland 0-1 Bournemouth ]
Moyes wants to stick around and help Sunderland back to the Premier League the way Rafa Benitez did this season in the Championship. Here’s what he said on NBCSN after the match:“I feel for the supporters. They put their hard-earned cash out there to support the team, and my thoughts are really with them today.
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“Yeah, the job’s to make sure that we get ourselves prepared and ready but we’re in this position, to talk about it now is just too quick.”
As for O’Shea, he’s clearly gutted and exasperated. The veteran Irish back did not have a strong season along with the majority of his teammates, and is left grasping for answers.
“Look, we’re obviously distraught. We all wanted the support that we got today. It’s not a nice feeling.
“Performances, results, are the obvious things at the end of the season. The detail never lies. We haven’t kept enough clean sheets, we haven’t taken enough chances. We needed a miracle run to save us, and we couldn’t produce it.”
The Black Cats were kept alive by Jermain Defoe’s heroics for most of the season, but the striker went ice cold with finishing from February onward. The club rarely looked the part this season, and this might not be a short spell away from the top flight.