After insulting a Middlesbrough player, Michael Beale wants his Sunderland players to be ‘a bit harder’.
Michael Beale criticised Middlesbrough forward Josh Coburn for ‘just constantly fouling people’ in the draw against Sunderland.
Coburn, a former Sunderland academy player, was a late substitute in the 1-1 draw and he appeared to have caused Dan Ballard an injury with a robust challenge late on.
Ballard is fine though, and according to the statistics it was the only foul that Coburn made, but Beale felt his team perhaps should have got more protection – as well as may being a ‘bit tougher’ themselves.
The same criticism probably could have been more accurately levelled at another former Sunderland academy player in the Middlesbrough side – Sam Greenwood. He committed four fouls and remarkably was only booked on the last one, and he also quite clearly fouled Dan Neil in the build-up to the home side’s goal.
