Players feel the pain, insists Cats star Andy Reid

Apr 29 2009 by Stephen Brown, The Journal

WHEN Sunderland’s players trooped off the Hawthorns pitch on Saturday, having failed to acknowledge a sizeable travelling support, the accusation arose that they did not care about having lost to West Brom.

Even in humiliating defeat, it suggested they think themselves already safe from relegation from the Premier League, and immune to the pain and vulnerability currently being shared by their fans. Not so, says Andy Reid.

Numb to it maybe, such was the devastation he and his team-mates felt come 5pm, but not immune.

After all, he couldn’t even bring himself to watch Match of the Day when he got home. Fortunately, for a man who lives in Durham on his own, he has a daughter – Saoirse – back in Ireland whose voice alone on the telephone can put things in perspective, while his trusty guitar always lends welcome respite.

Sometimes though, there is simply no escaping one’s wounded pride.

“We were devastated when we walked off the pitch, so much so that when you are watching the television on the night and Match of the Day comes on I turned it off,” said Reid.

“I don’t want to watch it, the whole lot. When you wake up Sunday morning, the first thing that comes into your head is the

result and the performance of the day before. I was delighted to be off on Sunday because the last thing I wanted to do was come in here (for training) – I didn’t want to play football and talk about it.

“People have an impression that footballers don’t really care. That’s so far from the truth it’s unbelievable.