The green shoots of recovery are all well and good, but they will mean nothing if they are trampled under foot before they develop into anything more tangible.

Sunderland’s problem is they do not seem to think that one good performance deserves another.

The last time they won two games on the trot, hapless Hull were their victims and Ricky Sbragia was hoping to get the manager’s job full-time.

It was good to hear the players and management talking the talk – and walking the walk – against Manchester United. But they cannot rest on their laurels at a battling but ultimately fruitless display against the Red Devils a long way from living up to their fearsome reputations at present.

As Newcastle United found out with their audacious deadline-day bid for Richardson, “We tried hard but we did not quite manage it,” counts for nothing if you do not quickly follow it up with something more concrete.

The pressure was off against Manchester United, it is well and truly on against Hull. What are you made of, Sunderland?