Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn and England striker Darren Bent today apologised to the club's fans for their derby day defeat against Newcastle.
Steve Bruce's team were thrashed 5-1 at St James' Park yesterday - their heaviest derby loss for 55 years - and the Sunderland manager said sorry to supporters immediately after the game.
Quinn echoed those sentiments today and said: "It is entirely appropriate that we apologise to our fans.
"Whilst acknowledging the hurt that this defeat has caused, I would like to emphasise that everyone at this club will face the music together.
"While everybody here is suffering, the players' hurt must be galvanised into a big performance on Saturday. I'm not asking anyone to have sympathy for us, but we are confident that the solution will be found."
Bent, who scored a late consolation for Sunderland, said: "We are all sorry about yesterday's result. We let a lot of people down."
