And while the joy of the Blades added to the Sunderland pain, Luke O’Nien says the Black Cats will use their Sheffield United frustration as a “catalyst” to return to winning ways and get back on track in the Championship.

While Friday night’s setback was Sunderland’s first defeat in their last 11 games, Regis Le Bris’ side are now winless in six.

O’Nien, however, asserts that just small adjustments are required, saying, “The team is in a good place.”

As Sunderland gets ready for a doubleheader at the Stadium of Light, which includes Stoke’s visit next Saturday and Bristol City three days later, the team captain anticipates some “extra bite” in training this week.
Furthermore, O’Nien will go into those games with confidence despite the recent losing streak.

“We’re almost really, really good,” he continued. To win these games, we just need to pay a bit more attention to the tiny things and make a few little adjustments. Nothing else needs to change.

We are aware of our strength as a team. Naturally, despite the fact that we deserved three more points, we are aware that we must convert these performances into victories. However, I believe the performance has been present for the past five or six games.

“We must take into account [the disappointment] of this game, even though we know we are a strong squad. This week’s training needs to be a little more intense.

We need to win a lot more games as a result of today’s loss. You take these performances with you, and when you hear them celebrate, you feel disappointed. We’re going to use this as motivation to win more games.

“Stability always triumphs in the end. You develop and advance both personally and as a group when you remain dependable and continue doing the things that have worked for you.

According to O’Nien, the Black Cats have had a difficult time lately.

It’s a lot like the last five or six games, he added, where there’s a thin line between winning and dominating, and we haven’t received the points that our performances have earned. That’s up to us; we’ve come to Bramall Lane and performed admirably, but we haven’t won any points. It’s difficult to accept.

After he cheaply gave up possession in his own half, O’Nien accepted responsibility for Chris Mepham’s red card.

He said: “I put my hands up for Meps getting sent off, I’ve got caught in the middle [of the pitch] there.

“Like all the mistakes I’ve made in my career, I’ll watch it back, learn from it and get better. We’ll do that collectively as a team and individually.

“That’s how we’ve moved forward as a team in the last few years, we learn from our mistakes. Games like today will serve us for the better in the long run. We’ve just got to work harder and train harder, there’s a very fine line between a good team and a very good team and it’s our job to turn these tight games into wins.”