Mark Robins makes ‘weird’ claim about Sunderland fans after Stoke City’s FA Cup win at Stadium of Light

Add as preferred source on Google

Sunderland lost in the FA Cup third round to Stoke City on Saturday afternoon, and the Potters’ boss Mark Robins has questioned one major thing he saw on his trip to the Stadium of Light.

In all fairness, Sunderland’s main priority right now is to keep competing at the top of the Championship table, so defeat in the FA Cup should come as no real surprise.

Regis Le Bris’ side pushed through to extra-time at the Stadium of Light against Stoke, but a late goal clinched it for the away team and dumped the Black Cats out of the competition.

Sunderland can take positives from the FA Cup exit, but there was one slightly worrying thing that could not be ignored from the game.

• READ MORE: Regis Le Bris offers exciting update on when Sunderland fans will see Enzo Le Fee make his debut

Stadium of Light crowd was ‘worrying’ for FA Cup tie

Sunderland’s attendance at the Stadium of Light on Saturday was just 15,744, which comes out at least 20,000 lower than the club’s usual average attendance for league games.

Speaking after the game (via the Sunderland Echo), Mark Robins discussed the possible reasons behind the low turnout and described the crowd figures as ‘worrying’.

He said: “No crowd really. It’s a really weird one this. It’s the FA Cup. Where are the people? I understand the cost of things and it must be really biting. The cold is biting, the finances are biting. It isn’t good.

“It’s really worrying and sad. I’ve seen there’s been empty stadia up and down the country and it’s not good. This stadium normally has 50,000 people in it and absolutely rocking so it’s a bit of a surprise. Thank you to everyone who came because that’s really important, and particularly our supporters.”

• READ MORE: Regis Le Bris explains why he hopes Sunderland ‘receive offers’ for players including Jobe Bellingham and more

Low attendance for FA Cup game does make sense

While the attendance levels for the FA Cup tie were drastically low, it should come as no real surprise at all.

The New Year is always tight for your average football fan in terms of finances, and let’s be honest, a cup game against a league team Sunderland have already played twice within the last month is hardly the most appealing fixture.

That’s especially pertinent when you consider Sunderland suffered a disappointing defeat against Stoke last time out, so why would fans rush out in the bitter North East cold to see the Black Cats try again in a competition that means very little to them in the grand scheme of things this season.

One thing’s for sure, there will be thousands of Sunderland fans making the trip to Burnley on Friday night for the crunch clash with Burnley, and the Stadium of Light crowd will be buzzing again come the end of the month for the visit of Plymouth Argyle.