Sunderland owners have been warned to ‘take responsibility’ following their sixth consecutive defeat.

Sunderland suffered their sixth consecutive Championship defeat at Southampton on Saturday.

For the first time since 2006, Sunderland has lost six games in a row.

Southampton defeated Sunderland again on Saturday, scoring twice before halftime before the Black Cats equalized through Romaine Mundle and Jobe Bellingham.

After pulling level, Southampton’s Joe Rothwell scored twice in quick succession to secure a 4-2 triumph.

Defeat on Saturday maintains the Black Cats in 11th position in the table, with the margin to the bottom three remaining at nine points.

Another sad incident of Sunderland’s season.

With 11 points separating the Black Cats from the top six, any chance of a play-off finish is all but gone.

And with performances like the one against Southampton, all possibility of making the play-offs next season appears to be fading.

There is so much work to be done on this Sunderland XI, and the club will also need to recruit a new manager in the summer.

The opening hour of yesterday’s game highlighted Sunderland’s dismal performance, with attention shifting to sports director Kristjaan Speakman and owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus.

Journalist James Copley commented on X:

A tremendous summer coming for Wearside.

When compared to three or four years ago, Sunderland is in a lot better position.

Sunderland were still a League One team two years ago, so the fact that their play-off dreams have been shattered by a run of six consecutive defeats does not seem as dreadful.

The opening hour of yesterday’s game highlighted Sunderland’s dismal performance, with attention shifting to sports director Kristjaan Speakman and owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus.