MICHAEL BEALE has admitted that Friday’s home game with Hull City could play a crucial role in determining the course of Sunderland’s season.
On the pitch, the Black Cats have had a difficult fortnight, with the FA Cup third-round defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Newcastle United being followed by last weekend’s loss at Ipswich Town.
Off it, tensions have risen markedly in the wake of both Beale’s appointment, which was far from popular amongst a significant section of the Sunderland support, and the chaotic build-up to the derby, in which Kyril Louis-Dreyfus was heavily criticised for the aborted rebrand of the Black Cats Bar at the Stadium of Light.
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